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News and analysis

More bullying? J&J will be investigated for high TB drug prices and abuse of...

South Africa’s Competition Commission will investigate the American drugmaker Johnson & Johnson for the high price it has been charging the country for the tuberculosis medicine bedaquiline, as well as for extending the tablets’ 20-year patent to block cheaper generics from entering the country.

Slash the price by three-quarters — government on anti-HIV jab

The health department says ViiV Healthcare’s non-profit price for their anti-HIV jab, CAB-LA, is four times what it can pay. In 2022, just over 164 200 people in South Africa became newly infected with HIV. Can we afford to go without the shot?

Will the Earth’s changing climate make TB spread faster?

The world is far behind its TB targets. Hoping to reduce TB deaths by 75% by 2025, world leaders have only managed to bring it down by 5.6% so far. Climate change, however, can derail these targets even more. The changing climate increases poverty, overcrowding, and malnutrition, the primary drivers of TB.

Why not enough people with HIV are on treatment — and how a new...

By 2025, South Africa wants 95% of people with HIV who are on treatment to have infection levels so low that they can’t transmit the virus to someone else. But this can only happen if they stick to taking their medication — which is where we’re falling down at the moment. A recent court ruling that allows people to get their medicines from private pharmacies may help.
The man is the second patient to be found dead in a public hospital ceiling in the last three years.

How did an otherwise healthy man with a broken leg end up dead in...

The bizarre case from Durban is at least the second such case nationally in the last three years.

What goes into your medical aid premium — and what it means for the...

Pooling funds to cover people’s medical bills makes sense — but only if the funds are managed well. Here’s what actuaries and economists look at when calculating your monthly premium — and what it could mean for the proposed National Health Insurance plan.

Over a million SAs have used the HIV prevention pill

More than a million public healthcare users in South Africa had started to use the HIV prevention pill by the end of May, with over half doing so in the past two years, health department data shows. But what must we do to make the pill — and a two-monthly HIV prevention injection — easier to get?

The heat is on: Why climate change will leave you gasping for air

Our burning fossil fuels makes the Earth warmer, causing weather patterns to change. In areas with lots of air pollution, this can make it even harder for people with lung diseases to breathe. And those who have least, will be affected most.

#UNGA78: What the NHI means for universal health coverage in SA

The third day of high-level meetings at the 78th United Nations General Assembly is dedicated to talks on universal health coverage. In South Africa, this means talking about the proposed National Health Insurance fund — something that’s getting people hot under the collar. We’ve put together a one-stop page with information to support constructive debate.

Making the case: Why poor mental health flags the need for HIV testing

To help South Africa wipe out HIV by 2030, the country focuses on getting people who have a big chance of getting or spreading HIV access to testing and treatment. Researchers say that people with serious mental illnesses should be added to the list of these key populations in South Africa. Learn more.

Big hospital, big boss — Bara ICU’s Rudo Mathivha retires

In July, Rudo Mathivha handed in her notice at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, ending a rightly celebrated 25-year stint as head of the intensive care unit. It was after a truly terrible year. Her story underscores the extent to which quality healthcare for the country’s most vulnerable people remains at the mercy of the indifferent and the corrupt.

#UNGA78: How SA’s mRNA hub is teaching the world about preparing for the next...

We will see more pandemics like COVID in the future — which is why political leaders are convening in New York today at the United Nations first ever high-level meeting on pandemic preparedness. Being able to make vaccines locally can stop Africa having to be at the back of the queue waiting for medicines the next time round. Here’s how.

How to get meds to Africa faster — and safer

South Africa’s medicines regulator is helping to process pharmaceutical companies’ applications for medicines to be approved by the African Medicines Agency. But the country won’t have a say in the appointment of the agency’s head because it hasn’t yet ratified the treaty for its establishment.

A budgetary tussle: Why the health department can’t employ these doctors — yet

South Africa has close to 700 medical doctors who haven’t been able to find a job in the public sector since qualifying. The shrinking health budget, coupled with rising salaries and high medical negligence claims, has meant that the department can’t afford to employ these professionals.

The waiting game: Could SA’s poor policies be behind our organ donation crisis?

In South Africa, the demand for donor organs far outstrips the supply — not because people aren’t signing up for donation, but rather because there aren’t policies in place to manage the transplant chain. Spain, though, has managed to fix the problem in their country. Can we learn from them?

No patient left behind? How national treasury’s budget cuts will affect comm serve posts

Budget cuts to the provincial departments will leave close to 200 health science graduates without spots for their community service. The knock-on effect will be that fewer people who use state hospitals will have access to health services like dentists and physiotherapists.