It is easy to claim one is “following the scientific evidence”, but what does it mean to actually do so? In his latest #InsideTheBox column, Dr Andy Gray considers how evidence-based health policy and guidelines can and should be made.
Eight million people living with HIV. Just over 6 million on treatment. Behind these big numbers lurk a universe of fascinating epidemiological dynamics. In this special briefing, Spotlight editor Marcus Low unpacks what we know about the state of HIV in South Africa.
Clinical trial participants appear to be well protected in South Africa, particularly as the country’s guidelines recognise the risks of research with international collaborators. The sudden end of US-funded clinical trials, however, is exposing some limitations of ethics codes and guidelines, argues Dr Andy Gray.
What medicines do you need prescriptions for and who is authorised to write those prescriptions is not a straight-forward matter. In his latest #InsideTheBox column, Dr Andy Gray explains how the system works now and sets out how it might be improved.
In the first of a new series of monthly columns for Spotlight, Dr Andy Gray considers what we mean when we refer to medicines as ‘essential’ – something that is routinely done by the WHO and the health authorities in many countries.
Over the last decade, it has become clear that South Africa’s progress against TB depends on diagnosing more people more quickly. In this Spotlight special briefing, Marcus Low asks how we can best go about it.
Highly effective treatments for HIV have existed since the mid-1990s. But while these treatments keep people healthy, we do not yet have a safe and scalable way to completely rid the body of the virus. In this Spotlight special briefing, Elri Voigt takes stock of where we are in the decades-long search for an HIV cure.
As health department officials move to set up National Health Insurance’s basic structures, including its board, several experts say the scheme remains a pipe-dream, doomed to the same fate as Gauteng’s aborted e-tolls project. In this Spotlight special briefing, Jesse Copelyn outlines three possible scenarios for how NHI might pan out over the coming years.
With varying degrees of success, artificial intelligence has begun to play the role of research assistant, radiologist, health educator, and even therapist. In this Spotlight special briefing, Jesse Copelyn tries to see past the hype and pin-points the most immediate implications of these new technologies for healthcare in South Africa.
The South African government has adopted a national target to bring the blood sugar levels of people with diabetes under control. But beyond the target, the country’s response to diabetes is falling far short. In this Spotlight special briefing, Catherine Tomlinson looks at what the country needs to do to better manage this often fatal disease and how we can draw lessons from the response to HIV.
Mireille Wenger was recently appointed to the Western Cape’s top health job. Biénne Huisman chatted to Wenger about health policy, child health, and the challenge of providing quality public health services at a time of shrinking budgets.
The deployment of the relatively unknown Dieketseng Mashego as Limpopo’s new MEC for health has raised eyebrows. Ufrieda Ho rounds up some responses to her appointment.
