Eye health services in the public sector are critically impaired – it is high time the health department responds

Posted in: Focus 2, Healthcare system, Latest, Opinions, Provinces, Spotlight

Despite South Africa producing a substantial number of trained optometrists, the majority of them work in the private sector and in urban areas. This imbalance leaves rural communities underserved and exacerbates health inequities. Does it make sense for us to use public funds and institutions to train people predominantly for the private sector, ask Dr Haseena Majid and Rene Sparks.

Eye health services in the public sector are critically impaired – it is high time the health department responds

New Western Cape health MEC Mireille Wenger says child health is near her heart

Posted in: #Vote4Health, Access to Medicines, Child health, Focus 2, Healthcare system, Latest, Provinces, Spotlight, Western Cape

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.

New Western Cape health MEC Mireille Wenger says child health is near her heart

Why we don’t have long-acting HIV treatment in South Africa

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus 1, Focus 2, Healthcare system, HIV/AIDS, Latest

In South Africa, taking HIV treatment means taking one or more antiretroviral tablets a day. People in some other countries have the additional option of treatment in the form of two injections administered every two months. Elri Voigt unpacks why long-acting HIV treatment is not available in South Africa and asks why the push for HIV prevention jabs has been so much stronger than that for HIV treatment jabs.

Why we don’t have long-acting HIV treatment in South Africa

Meet the movie buff and scientist fighting to keep rural healthcare from falling through the cracks

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus 2, Healthcare system, Latest, Spotlight

Working with women in Giyani in Limpopo sparked the flame for Professor Kathy Kahn to dedicate her research career to the rural community she says she is “bonded to”. She tells Spotlight’s Ufrieda Ho why it’s been this way since she was a student in medical school.

Meet the movie buff and scientist fighting to keep rural healthcare from falling through the cracks

Fight not yet over as case against Vertex is dropped after cystic fibrosis medicine price cut

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Healthcare system, Latest

Last year a South African woman took a multibillion-dollar United States pharmaceutical company to court with the aim of securing access to life-changing cystic fibrosis medicines. That case has now been dropped following a reduction in the price charged for the medicines in South Africa. Catherine Tomlinson reports.

Fight not yet over as case against Vertex is dropped after cystic fibrosis medicine price cut

Face to face: Healthcare veteran Kgosi Letlape on leaving the ANC, serving in parliament, and the tragic loss of his daughter

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus 1, Focus 2, Healthcare system, Latest, Provinces, Spotlight

Former ANC member, now with ActionSA, Kgosi Letlape was recently elected to parliament’s health committee. Biénne Huisman spoke to the past president of the Health Professions Council of SA about leaving the ANC, healthcare in the country, gender-based violence, and the murder of his daughter.

Face to face: Healthcare veteran Kgosi Letlape on leaving the ANC, serving in parliament, and the tragic loss of his daughter

AIDS 2024: Exciting developments with the jabs promising to revolutionise HIV prevention

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus 1, Focus 2, Healthcare system, HIV/AIDS, Latest

Taking antiretrovirals to prevent HIV infection mostly still involves swallowing one or more pills a day. Some long-acting products that work for a month or two at a time have been approved but are not yet in wide use in South Africa. As delegates gathered for the 25th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2024) last week, Elri Voigt takes stock of the latest developments in this fast-moving field.

AIDS 2024: Exciting developments with the jabs promising to revolutionise HIV prevention

Childhood vaccine coverage in SA declined in 2023, finds WHO report

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Child health, COVID-19, Focus 1, Focus 2, Healthcare system, Latest, Spotlight

New data from the World Health Organization and UNICEF show that globally childhood immunisation coverage stalled in 2023, while in South Africa it decreased. Elri Voigt unpacks the new data and asks local experts to put it in context.

Childhood vaccine coverage in SA declined in 2023, finds WHO report

Medicines stockouts persist in North West as tide turns slowly

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus 2, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, HIV/AIDS, Latest, North West, Provinces, Spotlight, TB

Despite some improvement over the past three years, the North West province continues to experience medicine shortages, according to a survey by a community clinic monitoring initiative. Nthusang Lefafa unpacks the latest findings and asks why shortages persist in the province.

Medicines stockouts persist in North West as tide turns slowly

“Not being afraid to speak out, it does get me into trouble quite often,” says Prof Shabir Madhi

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus 1, Focus 2, Healthcare system, Latest, Spotlight

Amid the uncertainty of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Shabir Madhi often stood out for his clarity of thought in making sense of rapidly evolving scientific evidence. Biénne Huisman chatted to Madhi about vaccines, ongoing challenges with the Gauteng health department, and being outspoken about issues such as the war in Gaza.

“Not being afraid to speak out, it does get me into trouble quite often,” says Prof Shabir Madhi

Walking with “nomakhayas”: How the Bulungula Incubator is creating change in Wild Coast communities

Posted in: Eastern Cape, Focus 1, Focus 2, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest, Provinces, Spotlight

An innovative health programme is thriving and making a difference in the lives of people in a rural Eastern Cape community. Sue Segar spent time with the project, walking with “nomakhayas” from house-to-house and taking a ferry trip across the Xhora river.

Walking with “nomakhayas”: How the Bulungula Incubator is creating change in Wild Coast communities

“We were the first ones to do it”: Innovative SA study takes TB testing to people’s homes

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus 1, Focus 2, Healthcare system, Latest, Spotlight, TB

Most tuberculosis (TB) tests still require a trip to the clinic. Now, new technology has made it possible to test people at home. This could be a big deal for South Africa, where much TB goes undiagnosed. Tiyese Jeranji unpacks the findings and implications of a recent study into such TB home testing.