Why pharmacists still can’t prescribe ARVs, months after court gave the green light

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, HIV/AIDS, InFocus, Latest, Spotlight

A Supreme Court of Appeal ruling in October 2025 cleared the way for specially trained and permitted pharmacists to dispense antiretroviral medicines without a doctor’s script. Seven months later, no pharmacists are yet providing these services. Catherine Tomlinson explores the reasons for the delay.

Why pharmacists still can’t prescribe ARVs, months after court gave the green light

Integrating HIV and NCD care is critical but not straight-forward, clinicians say

Posted in: Focus, HIV/AIDS, InFocus, Latest, NCDs

With the remarkable success of antiretroviral treatment people living with HIV in South Africa are generally living much longer than they did two decades ago. As a result, more people with HIV are also now living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and hypertension. Accordingly, the need to better integrate HIV and NCD services was a hot topic at the recent Southern African HIV Clinicians Society conference in Cape Town. Elri Voigt reports.