Author: Njih Favour

Professor Francois Venter, a clinician researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand, is one of the foremost HIV research scientists in South Africa. (Photo: Supplied) Comment & Analysis 16th July 2025 | Francois Venter South Africa is staging a sequel to Mbeki-era denialism, only this time, the science, solutions, and costs are clearer, argues Professor Francois Venter. Tragically, we have politicians showing the same disregard for despairing public health experts sounding the alarm and civil society’s calls for engagement. Treasury’s token contribution, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s and the GNU’s silence, Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s empty promises, and Health Minister Dr Aaron…

New World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations for the use of long-acting HIV prevention and treatment are a welcome boost in the global efforts to end AIDS as a global health threat by the year 2030.  The WHO announced new guidelines at the opening of the International AIDS Conference in Kigali this week. These include the use of lenacapavir, a six-monthly injectable, as an additional method of HIV prevention, or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). “These recommendations are part of a broader effort to support expanded access to person-centered HIV prevention, especially for populations at greatest risk,” says Meg Doherty Director of Global…

RSV is a leading cause of illness and death in children under five, particularly during the first six months in low- and middle-income countries. (Photo: Manuel Sanchez/Unsplash) News & Features 15th July 2025 | Catherine Tomlinson A new respiratory syncytial virus vaccine to protect infants from severe illness is available in South Africa’s private sector but not yet in public clinics. The country’s advisory group on immunisations has recommended making it available to all pregnant women. This proposal is now under review by the National Department of Health. Like the common cold, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is highly contagious. It…

15 Jul  SAHPRA‘s position on anti-cancer medications in South Africa Pretoria, 15 July 2025 – The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) was notified of the Lancet Global Health 2025; 13: e1250, an investigational study and its findings on substandard anti-cancer medications in Sub-Saharan African countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, and Cameroon. This study did not include South Africa. The seven (7) medicines/dosage forms mentioned in the study are cisplatin, oxaliplatin, methotrexate, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, and leucovorin. The specific brands mentioned/shown in the article are neither registered nor marketed in South Africa.  SAHPRA, in terms of the Medicines and…

Availability and affordability are have a big impact on the type of food people eat.(Photo: Freepik) Availability and affordability are have a big impact on the type of food people eat.(Photo: Freepik) On paper, it might seem simple. Eat less unhealthy food, exercise more, and you’ll avoid obesity. But for many South Africans, the reality is far more complicated. According to the World Obesity Observatory, more than 32% of adults in South Africa are living with obesity. The conversation is often reduced to just people making poor food choices, but there’s a bigger issue at play.  The April 2025 Household…

TB has lasted for centuries partly because our immune systems can’t easily get rid of it. (Photo: Shutterstock) News & Features 14th July 2025 | Elri Voigt TB can be cured, but ridding the body of the bug often takes many months and usually requires taking four or more different medicines. In this Spotlight special briefing, we zoom in on what makes the TB bacterium so hard to beat. There are many things we’ve learned from studying the ancient Egyptians. One especially fascinating discovery was evidence of skeletal deformities in mummies, which serves as silent markers of a tenacious bug…

The global AIDS response is at a paradoxical point.  On the one hand, the world is on the cusp of a “prevention revolution” with long-acting HIV prevention drugs, most notably the six-monthly injectable, lenacapavir, which is expected to be rolled out in South Africa by mid-2026.  On the other hand, countries are looking for ways to keep HIV programmes running after the U.S withdrew development funding earlier this year.  “There is a funding crisis. We must find ways to plug the gaps left by the withdrawal of donor aid. Countries need to look at their domestic budgets for where they…

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi presented a R64.8 bn budget. (Photo: GCIS) Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi presented a R64.8 bn budget. (Photo: GCIS) South Africa will be among the first countries in the world to receive doses of lenacapavir, the long-acting HIV prevention drug administered once every six months. This was announced by health minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, during the Health Budget Vote on Wednesday.  “It is envisaged that the first shipment will reach at least one African country by the end of 2025 – we intend to be such a country and we have already started putting the…

It’s been six months since the U.S froze and subsequently cancelled critical funding of HIV programmes around the world. Despite South Africa being a major beneficiary of U.S HIV funding through PEPFAR (the U.S President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has previously stated that the country’s HIV programme would not be derailed by the funding cuts.  But recent research suggests there’s cause for concern. “Funding cuts have hindered the progress related to the HIV epidemic,” says Khensani Chauke from the Gauteng Department of Health.  Chauke was among researchers presenting their findings on the impact of…

This project is funded by: Patients admitted to Hewu Hospital in the Eastern Cape are subjected to cold wards with no heaters and dilapidated prefabricated walls.  Situated at Whittlesea about 35 km from Queenstown, also known as Komani, it serves nearly 298,000 people from 36 villages. In April this year, the hospital’s board chairperson, Zukile Khondlo, wrote to Premier Lubabalo Mabuyane, saying “only 168 of the 229 beds in the hospital are usable”. The facility has not had any major renovations since it started operating in 1988. Subscribe to our newsletter Lwando Thembani who was discharged from the hospital on…