Author: Njih Favour
Professor Tulio de Oliveira. (Photo: Supplied) News & Features 24th February 2025 | Biénne Huisman Cuts to United States spending on aid and medical research have caused widespread havoc and anxiety in the last month. Professor Tulio de Oliveira sat down with Spotlight’s Biénne Huisman to talk through what it might mean for health research in South Africa. As the Trump administration moves to freeze foreign aid, halting vital humanitarian health programmes and medical research trials worldwide – leaving patients cut off from lifesaving medicines and scientists in a bind – Professor Tulio de Oliveira argues that the United States…
04 Feb South Africa-WHO gears up to map way forward to fight substandard and falsified medical products Posted at 14:30h in News & Updates by Melanie Govindasamy Pretoria – The leading agencies, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and the National Department of Health (NDoH) with identified key stakeholders for the National Action Plan (NAP) are in a three-day workshop this week (4-6 February 2025) to pilot the World Health Organization (WHO) Draft Handbook for National Action Planning for Prevention, Detection and Response Strategies on Substandard and Falsified Medical Products (SFMPs). Stakeholders that are involved in eradicating SF…
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi says the rising cost of private healthcare is an “uncontrollable expenditure” that impacts the entire South African economy. Motsoaledi, alongside Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition Parks Tau, held a joint press briefing on Monday to give updates on the progress made in the recommendations of the Health Market Inquiry into the private sector. He says the department will implement some of the inquiry’s recommendations as a temporary stopgap measure. “We are doing this because the phased-in implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) is going to take longer. In the interim we need to…
The government took its first steps towards the implementation of the recommendation of Health Market Inquiry into the private healthcare sector. (Photo: Bild von Tung Lam/Pixabay) News & Features 26th February 2025 | Chris Bateman Medical aid schemes will be given collective power to negotiate prices, according to draft regulations published last week. While some see the move as an important step toward reining in private healthcare prices, others argue that they do not go far enough and are legally unsound. We spoke to several leading experts about the proposed reforms. Complaints about the high cost of private healthcare services…
05 Feb Landmark agreement among Africa’s leading National Medicines Regulatory Authorities to foster collaboration Posted at 16:27h in News & Updates by Melanie Govindasamy Cairo, Egypt, 4 February 2025: The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and African Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) are proud to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among Africa’s WHO Maturity Level 3 National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs). These agencies have established robust systems to ensure the safety, efficacy and quality of medical products in line with international regulatory standards. The agreement marks a significant…
Health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has identified men as a major challenge in South Africa’s efforts against HIV. The problem: men are less likely to test for HIV, get started on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and stay on treatment. He was speaking at the launch of a campaign aimed at getting an additional 1.1 million people on HIV treatment by December 2025. Motsoaledi called out men, saying, “It is us who are holding it back. I was told that when we go to clinics, women come there in large numbers but men are nowhere to be seen.” Women are more likely…
Findings from the BAMMISHO project will inform strategies to address the challenges of mining and migration, fostering sustainable solutions for communities to thrive. (File photo: SAPRIN) News & Features 27th February 2025 | Nthusang Lefafa A new health research hub brings hope of improving health services in the Rustenburg Valley in the North West Province. Spotlight finds out more about how the Bafokeng Health and Demographic Surveillance System Node will work and what it has to offer. Vivian Moremi envisions a shift in how the people of the “dew” confront tuberculosis (TB) – the top infectious disease killer on the…
21 Feb Update: Feedback on SAHPRA’s EOIs and latest appointments Posted at 12:27h in News & Updates by Melanie Govindasamy The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has published four (4) Expression of Interests (EOIs) since 2023, and these have all been closed. Updates on EOIs: Ref: SAHPRA20862023 – The EOI was closed on Friday, 15 December 2023. VET – Two (2) external evaluators for the Veterinary Committee were finalised and appointments made. The remaining two (2) external evaluators for the Medical Devices and IVDs Committee (Veterinary Expert and Clinical Trials for Medical Devices and IVDs) – the advert…
Public health experts and activists warn the sudden cut of US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will strain an already overburdened public health system, with potential long-term consequences for HIV and tuberculosis (TB) response efforts. “This is one of the worst days of my career,” says Dr Kate Rees, Public Health Medicine Specialist at Anova Health Institute, during a virtual press conference on Thursday Overnight, organisations around the world were blindsided by emails from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announcing the termination of (PEPFAR) funding, citing US government interests. The decision threatens HIV and AIDS…
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – At the recent Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, African leaders unveiled an ambitious plan to provide electricity access to 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. This initiative, known as “Mission 300,” is a collaborative effort between the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank Group, and various global partners, aiming to address the significant energy deficit on the continent.As of recent data, approximately 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity, accounting for nearly half of the continent’s population. This energy shortfall poses substantial challenges to economic…