In the Spotlight | Why government should provide more free HIV self-tests

Posted in: #InTheSpotlight, Access to Medicines, Focus, Healthcare system, HIV/AIDS, InFocus, Latest, Special Investigations, Spotlight

It is estimated that around half a million people living with HIV in South Africa don’t know they are living with the virus. One way to help these people is by offering them the means to test themselves in the privacy of their own homes. As Catherine Tomlinson explains in this #InTheSpotlight special briefing, such self-screening tests are part of our HIV response on paper, but in reality, the tests are massively underutilised.

In the Spotlight | Why government should provide more free HIV self-tests

Response to aid cuts and HIV prevention injections dominate discussions at SA AIDS conference

Posted in: Focus, Healthcare system, HIV/AIDS, InFocus, Latest, Spotlight

A dire picture for HIV/Aids funding emerged at the 12th South African AIDS Conference, raising the call for resilience, adapting and also for government to raise its game, reports Ufrieda Ho.

Response to aid cuts and HIV prevention injections dominate discussions at SA AIDS conference

Analysis: Amid budget constraints, tough choices for SA’s HIV response

Posted in: HIV/AIDS, Latest

Around 13% of South Africa’s population are living with HIV and the country has the world’s largest HIV treatment programme. The country’s finances are however under huge pressure and significant cuts were recently announced to government’s HIV budget. Catherine Tomlinson unpacks what a new HIV Investment Case can tell us about the possible paths forward.

Analysis: Amid budget constraints, tough choices for SA’s HIV response

Experts call for better screening and treatment of TB during pregnancy

Posted in: Edition 7: TB, Latest, TB, TB

Falling ill with tuberculosis (TB) can be challenging for anyone, but it can be especially hard if you are pregnant or have just given birth. Globally, TB is amongst the top five causes of death in women of childbearing age. Tiyese Jeranji spoke to experts about the risks, challenges, and ongoing studies on maternal TB.

Experts call for better screening and treatment of TB during pregnancy

SA expected to begin piloting HIV prevention shot in early 2023

Posted in: Access to Medicines, HIV/AIDS, Latest

South Africa is expected to begin piloting the every-other-month HIV prevention shot early next year, according to the international medicine financing initiative Unitaid. New modelling shows that the injection could prevent as many as 52 000 new HIV infections in the next two decades. But to be cost-effective in South Africa, the research argues, the price of the injection must fall to levels drugmaker ViiV Healthcare says are unrealistic. Laura Lopez Gonzalez reports.