South Africa is marching closer to implementing universal health coverage in the form of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Scheme. This is after the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) voted this week in favour of the implementation of the bill. The Western Cape is…
Policy is central to the global efforts to end AIDS. Progressive policies that enshrine civil liberties can help people take steps to protect themselves from acquiring HIV, and prevent its onward transmission. In the same breath, policies that criminalise people…
By Chris Bateman, Freelance Journalist With HIV positivity among urban transgender women in South Africa estimated at 46%, it is becoming increasingly urgent for healthcare workers to undergo sensitivity training. A transgender woman is a person who was assigned the…
By Chris Bateman, Freelance Journalist Only two-thirds of children in South Africa getting treatment for HIV are virally suppressed. Viral suppression is a measure of how well antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs reduce HIV viral load. A high HIV viral load suggests…
South Africa will now be paying 40% less for the multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) drug bedaquiline. Bedaquiline is a key component in the cocktail of drugs used to treat MDR-TB. Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is currently the sole manufacturer…
The Free State health department recently launched a programme to have medication for chronic conditions delivered to elderly patients’ homes. Deliveries will be made by health assistants or community health workers. These are usually community members who are trained in…
Top scientists, opinion leaders, civil society groups and politicians are calling on United States (US) policymakers to vote in favour of the continued funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The voting process – known as a…
Academics, activists and medical professionals have rung the alarm bell over the further deterioration of South Africa’s public health services if stringent budget-cutting measures are implemented immediately. South Africa has been facing fiscal strain with increased interest rates and high…
The COVID-19 procurement contracts South Africa signed with various pharmaceutical companies were “unethical, immoral, and imperial minded”, says Health Justice Initiative (HJI) director, Fatima Hassan. She says the contracts made no provision for transparency and government as the purchaser had…
Access to TB prevention treatment and antiretroviral (ARV) medication is about to get easier in South Africa. People will soon be able to get a range of HIV services from pharmacists with special training. South Africa’s HIV treatment programme is…
The Health Justice Initiative (HJI) says the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill provides no clarity on how medicine selection, procurement, pricing and access will be managed to ensure broad medicine access. HJI founder, Fatima Hassan says it’s unclear how the…
Officials from the health department briefed the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on the National Health Insurance (NHI) today. The NHI aims to provide access to quality and affordable health services to meet patients’ healthcare needs. Last week, the National…
Delaying legalising sex work in South Africa will impede the effective implementation of the new National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB and STIs. This is the warning from the South African National Aids Council (SANAC). Responding to the government’s decision…
Despite the availability of a new shorter treatment regimen for children with non-severe tuberculosis(TB), South African children are stuck with the longer six-month prescription. This is because the country failed to update guidelines for the management of childhood TB since…