The Gauteng health department has an annual budget of around R67 billion. This is more than 20% of the South African government’s entire spending on health. For the corrupt, the Gauteng health department is an obvious target. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/19/e...

THE ROT RUNS DEEP | The Gauteng health department remains trapped in a cycle of institutional decay and administrative failure. The consequences are catastrophic. Find out more: shorturl.at/esHjA Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

The lesson from history is clear: When lifesaving HIV treatment was delayed, millions died needlessly. We cannot afford the same mistake with HIV prevention, write Fatima Hassan, Leena Menghaney, and Bellinda Nkoana. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/09/a...

ICYMI | The Western Cape Government is now the eighth group to litigate against the NHI Act. Spotlight combed through some of the founding affidavits and spoke with legal experts to get a sense of the arguments litigants are betting on. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/16/o...

CANCER CARE CRISIS | The Gauteng health department's late appeal to a court judgment compelling it to act on cancer treatment backlogs is raising more questions from activists about what the department believes it stands to lose from not following the ruling. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/17/c...

NHI PUSHBACK | A key argument in challenging the NHI ACT in court is that it's irrational and unreasonable to overhaul the health system when there’s no money to do so. Spotlight dissects how the argument is being applied. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/16/o...

MUST READ | A dire picture for HIV/Aids funding emerged at the 12th South African AIDS Conference, raising the call for resilience, adapting and also for government to raise its game. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/15/r...

BATTLE TO BREATHE | From wheezing children to adults with lungs so damaged they can no longer work, the human impact of living near coal mines and power plants is stark. Find out more: shorturl.at/0DDTc Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

INFOGRAPH | There are still no clear plans for providing CAB-LA in South Africa’s public sector clinics, despite the four-year head start that it had on lenacapavir. By contrast, lenacapavir injections could be available in some select public sector clinics by April of next year.

BATTLE TO BREATHE | One of the complexities in reporting on air pollution in an area like Emalahleni is that the air often contains not only one problematic substance, but a soup of potentially harmful stuff. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/10/b...

Incredible article on a fascinating case of a pregnancy bridging the Gugulethu Midwife Obstetrics Unit, Mowbray Maternity Hospital and Groote Schuur Hospital – a real health systems success story! www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/08/h... @uct-fhs-research.bsky.social @spotlightnsp.bsky.social

MUST READ | As delegates convene at the SA AIDS Conference, they must publicly call out the demand for price secrecy from Gilead and the Global Fund for what it is: bullying, write Fatima Hassan, Leena Menghaney, and Bellinda Nkoana. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/09/a...

MEDICAL 'MIRACLE' | One year ago, baby Joshua was safely delivered not from his mom’s uterus but from her belly, in an extraordinary medical case. Spotlight meets mom Sylvia, little Joshua, and the healthcare team behind this remarkable story. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/08/h...

PROTECTION IS COMING | South Africa is on the brink of an important development with the limited rollout of lenacapavir in 2026. Find out more: shorturl.at/34dPK Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

The improvement is substantial. Viral suppression in kids on treatment aged one to four increased from 58% in June 2023 to 76% in June 2025, based on a cut-off of around 1 000 copies/ml. Using the much stricter cut-off of 50 copies/ml, viral suppression was 34% in June 2023 and 54% in June 2025.

HIV & KIDS | The potent antiretroviral drug dolutegravir has become the backbone of SA’s HIV treatment programme. New estimates suggest that most children aged one to four living with HIV have now been switched to the drug, reports @elri-voigt.bsky.social. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/04/t...

MUST READ | The health department plans to roll out lenacapavir, a twice-yearly HIV prevention injection in 2026. Yet, little progress has been made towards rolling out a two-monthly prevention injection, despite the four-year head start on lenacapavir. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/02/t...

CRIPPLING CUTS | Doctors have blown the whistle about a crisis at one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most important public hospitals, saying it is functioning far under capacity due to a series of cuts that they say is costing lives. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/01/w...

CRIPPLING CUTS | Doctors have blown the whistle about a crisis at one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most important public hospitals, saying it is functioning far under capacity due to a series of cuts that they say is costing lives. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/01/w...

DO YOU KNOW THEM? Women across healthcare, science, and medicine are leading with distinction locally and internationally. See our list: shorturl.at/sHqHm Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

Reliance is one of the most interesting ideas in medicines regulation. Come read all about it.

The stars aligned for this interview to happen at the @samrcza.bsky.social building in Pretoria. One of my favourites so far, Prof Rachel Jewkes reflected on her remarkable career and how she "accidentally" spent a few months in the Transkei as a teenager.

MUST READ| The Gauteng Department of Health has suffered another loss in the courts earlier this month over it's obligation to provide cancer treatments. Spotlight assesses the legal situation and what it means for people waiting for life-saving treatment. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/28/w...

WOMEN IN HEALTH | From anti-apartheid activist to one of the country’s leading researchers on gender-based violence, Professor Rachel Jewkes spoke to @elri-voigt.bsky.social about her career spent trying to make the world a better place for women. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/27/f...

In his latest #InsideTheBox column, Dr Andy Gray explains how reliance mechanisms can help regulators make decisions more quickly and efficiently, and digs into the details of how South Africa can make the most of these mechanisms. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/25/i...

In his latest #InsideTheBox column, Dr Andy Gray explains how reliance mechanisms can help regulators make decisions more quickly and efficiently, and digs into the details of how South Africa can make the most of these mechanisms. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/25/i...

ENDLESS WAIT | On 7 August 2025, Primrose Modisane, 36, flickered back into legal existence outside a Home Affairs office in Germiston, just 20 kilometers from the spot where she had evaporated 17 years earlier. @joanvandyk.bsky.social @lhr-sa.bsky.social www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/22/s...

HEALING NOT HOSTILITY | The law is clear. Every person in South Africa has a constitutional right to access healthcare services, regardless of their documentation status. Read more: shorturl.at/d1JFZ Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

ENDLESS WAIT | On 7 August 2025, Primrose Modisane, 36, flickered back into legal existence outside a Home Affairs office in Germiston, just 20 kilometers from the spot where she had evaporated 17 years earlier. @joanvandyk.bsky.social @lhr-sa.bsky.social www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/22/s...

Day 1 of the @sahivsoc.bsky.social conference started today in Century City. Excited to cover some of the excellent sessions for @spotlightnsp.bsky.social

HER IMPACT | For the briefest moment Dr Nomathemba Chandiwana could have had a career in music, but she carved out a career in public health. Her focus has been on HIV and most recently, bringing insights from HIV research into tackling SA’s obesity rates. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/20/d...

BATTLE TO BREATHE | Despite a landmark court ruling that upheld the right to clean air, air pollution remains rife in Emalahleni. For part 2 of this Spotlight special series, reporter Sue Segar and photographer Thom Pierce met up with activists in Mpumalanga. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/18/b...

BATTLE TO BREATHE | Despite a landmark court ruling that upheld the right to clean air, air pollution remains rife in Emalahleni. For part 2 of this Spotlight special series, reporter Sue Segar and photographer Thom Pierce met up with activists in Mpumalanga. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/18/b...

CASH INJECTION | Emergency funding will for sure soften the blow of the sudden and major US funding cuts - but the blow remains a massive one. Here’s the quick breakdown: shorturl.at/Szjlh Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

MUST READ | National Treasury has provided the Health Department with hundreds of millions of rands in emergency funds following US funding cuts. Spotlight and @groundup.org.za look at how government intends to spend this money. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/14/i...

MUST READ | National Treasury has provided the Health Department with hundreds of millions of rands in emergency funds following US funding cuts. Spotlight and @groundup.org.za look at how government intends to spend this money. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/14/i...

Karen Mara Moss recalls Dr Ignacio Ponseti telling her: “You’re the first South African that’s ever been here. Please go back home and tell the doctors not to operate on clubfoot”. Today, her non-profit is at the heart of a remarkable success story. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/13/i...

ICYMI | This year only Gauteng and North West interviewed candidates for the doctor bursary programme that sends students from South Africa to be trained in Cuba. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/07/29/s...

A DOSE OF HOPE | A new HIV prevention pill tested in SA holds the promise of offering a full month of protection with just one dose. Read our Q&A about MK-8527: shorturl.at/eZbqV Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

We look forward to reporting from this always excellent conference.

HER IMPACT: Princess Anne-Sheilah Makhado has worn many hats: that of midwife, professional nurse, motivational speaker, farmer, seamstress, mother, author and now doctor. She chats to Spotlight for our #WomenInHealth series. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/06/w...

HER IMPACT: Princess Anne-Sheilah Makhado has worn many hats: that of midwife, professional nurse, motivational speaker, farmer, seamstress, mother, author and now doctor. She chats to Spotlight for our #WomenInHealth series. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/06/w...

BATTLE TO BREATHE | Emalahleni translates to ‘place of coal’. But for many people living here, it has also become a place of dirty air. To get first-hand accounts of their stories, Writer Susan Segar and photographer Thom Pierce travelled to Mpumalanga. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/04/b...

Some great photos in here by Thom Pierce

BATTLE TO BREATHE | Emalahleni translates to ‘place of coal’. But for many people living here, it has also become a place of dirty air. To get first-hand accounts of their stories, Writer Susan Segar and photographer Thom Pierce travelled to Mpumalanga. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/04/b...

TIME UP? Once hailed by some as a bold solution to SA's healthcare needs, the Nelson Mandela–Fidel Castro medical training programme faces tough questions about its cost, impact, and future. Read more: shorturl.at/WtHcB Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

For people exposed to TB, one of two things happens. Either the body mounts an immune response that contains and may eventually kill the bug, or the bacteria gets past the immune system and causes illness. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/07/14/i...

TIME UP? Once hailed by some as a bold solution to SA's healthcare needs, the Nelson Mandela–Fidel Castro medical training programme faces tough questions about its cost, impact, and future. Read more: shorturl.at/WtHcB Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

Interesting story from the US. For comparison, here is our reporting on how the price of lenalidomide (revlimid) has fluctuated in SA https://www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2023/02/15/analysis-why-has-the-price-of-this-cancer-medicine-risen-and-fallen-by-over-a-thousand-percent-since-2016/