We need to confront the racialised and class-based structures that still dictate society’s oral health outcomes, argues Dr Bulela Vava as we head toward the end of this year’s National Oral Health Month.
A new HIV prevention jab has the potential to bring an end to the AIDS epidemic. But a lack of ambition and unjustifiable secrecy over pricing is holding it back, argue three leading health activists.
Rather than trying to do everything from scratch, medicines regulators from different countries are increasingly sharing the load between them by ‘relying’ on each other’s work. In his latest Inside The Box column, Dr Andy Gray explains how such ‘reliance mechanisms’ can help regulators make decisions more quickly and efficiently, and digs into the details of how South Africa can make the most of these mechanisms.
For over 20 years, the law has required that the Minister of Health issues regulations to govern the advertising of medicines in South Africa, but as yet no such regulations are in place. In his latest Inside The Box column, Dr Andy Gray considers what this means for the marketing of medicines in the country.
Spotlight and GroundUp published a two-part exposé showing how US aid cuts led to the deaths of children in Mozambique. Here, Jesse Copelyn considers what led to this tragedy and who should bear responsibility for it.
South Africa is staging a sequel to Mbeki-era denialism, only this time, the science, solutions, and costs are clearer, argues Professor Francois Venter.
South Africa still lacks an action plan after the withdrawal of US aid for HIV and related health services. But when funds do arrive, how will they be managed? Russell Rensburg suggests the answer may lie in the District Health Programme Grant.
It is easy to claim one is “following the scientific evidence”, but what does it mean to actually do so? In his latest Inside The Box column, Dr Andy Gray considers how evidence-based health policy and guidelines can and should be made.
Several studies have flagged problems with South Africa’s death registration processes. A critical first step to addressing it is to replace our paper-based process with an electronic one, argue Dr Pam Groenewald and Professor Debbie Bradshaw, both of the SAMRC’s Burden of Disease Research Unit.
Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi’s recent claim that over half a million people have been newly started on HIV treatment in less than six months has raised eyebrows in health circles. In this open letter, Anna Grimsrud and Sibongile Tshabalala-Madhlala, associated with CHANGE – South Africa, ask the Minister to explain numbers that, on the face of it, seem contradictory.
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.
We’re watching the largest HIV treatment programme in the world unravelling in real time. We don’t need perfection, but we do need a combination of urgency, action, and strategy to save it, argues Professor Francois Venter.
