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Inside government’s confused response to the US funding crisis

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

In late-January, the US suspended billions of dollars worth of international aid, including for HIV-related programmes in South Africa. The South African government could have responded by triggering an emergency funding mechanism but has failed to do so yet. In the meantime, activists, health researchers and even technical advisors to government are growing increasingly frustrated with the government’s lack of transparency on this issue.

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Why the Competition Commission’s decision on two cancer medicine cases could have much wider implications

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus, HIV/AIDS, InFocus, Latest, Spotlight, TB

There is a history of competition law being used to drive HIV medicine prices lower in South Africa. Now, two cases involving cancer medicines seem set to nail down what qualifies as “excessive pricing” in South African law – a legal development that could have far reaching implications for medicines prices in the country. Catherine Tomlinson unpacks the details.

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Competition law has again worked to fight a bad drug patent, but we need other solutions

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

A Competition Commission probe recently resulted in a patent on an important tuberculosis medicine being dropped in South Africa. Twenty years ago, a similar Competition Commission case resulted in a settlement that helped drive down the prices of several antiretrovirals, thereby helping to set the stage for the country’s HIV treatment programme. Fatima Hassan and Leena Menghaney connect the dots between the two landmark cases and map out what has and has not changed over the last two decades.

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Mabuyane under fire for moving Eastern Cape head of health

Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest, Provinces

Some health activists and health professionals this week slammed as disruptive and nonsensical Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane’s decision to ‘second’ the head of health in the province, Dr Rolene Wagner, to a special unit in his office. Many have expressed concern over the impact this may have on providing health services, but Mabuyane insists his decision will not impact service delivery. Luvuyo Mehlwana reports.

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Analysis: Landmark SA court case takes on US maker of cystic fibrosis drugs

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Healthcare system, Latest

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a debilitating and often deadly disease. Until recently, the only treatments for its symptoms were difficult to administer and time-consuming. Life-changing new treatments that dramatically improve the prognosis for people with the disease have been developed, but they are expensive and Vertex, the US company making the drugs, has decided against registering the drugs in South Africa. Cheri Nel, a woman living with CF, is now taking Vertex on in a South African court. Catherine Tomlinson unpacks the details.

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OPINION: How can we make surgical care accessible by drawing on lessons from the AIDS movement?

Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest

The quest for access to equitable and quality surgical care for all will not be won only in board rooms, theatres, or hospital corridors. We have to take this quest into communities and build alliances. In that respect, we can learn from one of the best examples of how community participation and mobilisation can help change health policy – the movement to ensure access to affordable and universal anti-retroviral treatment for persons living with HIV, argues Professor Kathryn Chu and Sangeun Lee.

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