Evidence has been mounting that poor nutrition impacts both someone’s risk of falling ill with TB and how well they do once ill. But as the World Health Organization (WHO) releases new guidelines on TB and nutrition, it is unclear to what extent the South African government is ready to invest in providing people with nutritional support as part of the fight against TB. Biénne Huisman reports.
Health workers have long relied on Body Mass Index (BMI) as a way to measure whether people are within a healthy weight range. Now, a collection of top researchers have made the case for a new way to understand and diagnose obesity. In part two of this special Spotlight series, we take a look at what this new framing might mean for South Africa.
The TB Sustainable Development Goals of reducing incidence and deaths from TB are achievable, if we all work together. We must double down on this ambition and be even bolder in our investments, write Yogan Pillay and Gaurang Tanna.
After the US slashed global aid, the South African government stated that only 17% of its HIV spending relied on US funding. But some experts argue that US health initiatives had more bang for buck than the government’s programmes. Jesse Copelyn looks past the 17% figure, and considers how the health system is being affected by the loss of US money.
