Remarkable findings from a study in rural KwaZulu-Natal suggest a compelling alternative to the current model of clinic-based care of hypertension. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/10/m...

PRESSING ON | The funding crisis for TB research remains acute. Fortunately, much TB research continues. We give you the lowdown: tinyurl.com/yhjenfcn Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

PRESSING ON | The funding crisis for TB research remains acute. Fortunately, much TB research continues. We give you the lowdown: tinyurl.com/yhjenfcn Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

Swab-based molecular tests for tuberculosis using near-point-of-care platforms New, large, multi-country study shows that Truenat MTB Ultima and MiniDock MTB have strong potential to exceed WHO minimum accuracy targets for a near point-of-care TB diagnostic www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I suspect there will be some truly fascinating presentations of data from this study at conferences 3 or 4 years from now.

There is still much uncertainty over how asymptomatic TB functions in the body and how infectious it is. An ambitious study, set to be conducted in South Africa and Indonesia, is trying to find some answers, reports @elri-voigt.bsky.social. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/06/s...

There is still much uncertainty over how asymptomatic TB functions in the body and how infectious it is. An ambitious study, set to be conducted in South Africa and Indonesia, is trying to find some answers, reports @elri-voigt.bsky.social. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/06/s...

MUST READ | The number of HIV viral load tests recorded by the National Health Laboratory Service is significantly less than expected since Feb 2025. Spotlight and @groundup.org.za are aware of no compelling reason to explain this except the US aid withdrawal. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/04/w...

MUST READ | The number of HIV viral load tests recorded by the National Health Laboratory Service is significantly less than expected since Feb 2025. Spotlight and @groundup.org.za are aware of no compelling reason to explain this except the US aid withdrawal. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/04/w...

ON THE CUSP OF CHANGE | South Africa is on the brink of a major shift in HIV care. Soon, trained pharmacists will be able to dispense antiretrovirals without a doctor’s script required. Learn more in our: tinyurl.com/2cbumnrw Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

That TB and malnutrition often go hand-in-hand is well established, but it is also one of those connections that is often greeted by a shrug. That is something the WHO is hoping to change. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/03/w...

That TB and malnutrition often go hand-in-hand is well established, but it is also one of those connections that is often greeted by a shrug. That is something the WHO is hoping to change. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/03/w...

ON THE CUSP OF CHANGE | South Africa is on the brink of a major shift in HIV care. Soon, trained pharmacists will be able to dispense antiretrovirals without a doctor’s script required. Learn more in our: tinyurl.com/2cbumnrw Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

The second in our series on the key legal questions on which the NHI court cases are likely to turn. Great work from Jesse Copelyn, as always.

NHI NEWS | The NHI Act is facing a slew of legal challenges. Spotlight combed through court papers, and spoke with legal experts to pin down what specific arguments litigants are betting on. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/29/o...

NHI NEWS | The NHI Act is facing a slew of legal challenges. Spotlight combed through court papers, and spoke with legal experts to pin down what specific arguments litigants are betting on. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/29/o...

MONDAY MUST READ | Pharmacists with the required training will need special permits to dispense antiretrovirals without a doctor’s script. Spotlight reports that they may be able to start applying for these permits as soon as next month. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/27/p...

BIG SA NEWS IN HIV PREVENTION | Our medicines regulator approved an HIV prevention shot containing lenacapavir. It provides protection for six months with a single dose. A limited public rollout is set for April 2026. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/27/b...

BIG SA NEWS IN HIV PREVENTION | Our medicines regulator approved an HIV prevention shot containing lenacapavir. It provides protection for six months with a single dose. A limited public rollout is set for April 2026. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/27/b...

MONDAY MUST READ | Pharmacists with the required training will need special permits to dispense antiretrovirals without a doctor’s script. Spotlight reports that they may be able to start applying for these permits as soon as next month. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/27/p...

AGAINST THE ODDS | SA has an army of inspiring people making a difference. How could we bring more of the dynamism of our NGOs into our provincial health departments? tinyurl.com/y5atb8z Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

MUST READ | Ritshidze, South Africa’s powerhouse community-led healthcare monitor, is on the brink of shutting down. Experts warn its collapse could unravel years of progress in our clinics just as worrying new data emerges about HIV services. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/22/r...

When it comes to Cerebral Palsy – a wide-ranging motor disorder with possible comorbidities – what could a standardised package of baby care look like, especially within an overburdened public health system? www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/23/w...

MUST READ | Ritshidze, South Africa’s powerhouse community-led healthcare monitor, is on the brink of shutting down. Experts warn its collapse could unravel years of progress in our clinics just as worrying new data emerges about HIV services. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/22/r...

GOOD NEWS DOSE | Mothers and babies in South Africa often go hungry and miss out on healthcare. Spotlight spent time with an innovative project that is helping thousands such women and kids in parts of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/20/h...

SAVING LIVES | Immunisations are considered one of the most cost-effective health interventions, second only to access to potable water, says a leading vaccine expert. Find out more: tinyurl.com/5n7rax8t Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

SAVING LIVES | Immunisations are considered one of the most cost-effective health interventions, second only to access to potable water, says a leading vaccine expert. Find out more: tinyurl.com/5n7rax8t Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

Confirmation in here that tariff-determination regs for private healthcare published in Feb have been binned. Govt is working on new ones. Recommendations from 2019 HMI report are still largely unimplemented.

Healthcare funding in the public and private sector is headed towards a sustainability crisis, delegates at the HASA conference heard. But potential solutions such as pooling resources, linking services and partnering smarter has proved to be elusive. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/15/g...

These briefings are of the best things we publish on Spotlight

MUST READ | Childhood immunisation programmes have saved millions of lives. Today, these vital efforts are losing momentum. In this #InTheSpotlight feature, @elri-voigt.bsky.social unpacks the data and explores how to revive these life-saving programmes. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/13/i...

MUST READ | Childhood immunisation programmes have saved millions of lives. Today, these vital efforts are losing momentum. In this #InTheSpotlight feature, @elri-voigt.bsky.social unpacks the data and explores how to revive these life-saving programmes. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/13/i...

KIDS ARE GOING HUNGRY | That children are dying in part due to malnutrition is devastating, but in a sense, it is the tip of the iceberg. Learn more: shorturl.at/bMFI4 Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

KIDS ARE GOING HUNGRY | That children are dying in part due to malnutrition is devastating, but in a sense, it is the tip of the iceberg. Learn more: shorturl.at/bMFI4 Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

One of the rallying cries of patient and community-based organisations is “nothing about us, without us”. The “patient voice” is, however, not always heard in medicines selection or medicines regulation, writes Dr Andy Gray in his latest #InsideTheBox column. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/09/i...

GOOD NEWS | Spotlight recently spent time at the Pebbles Kitchen, where a small team have made it their mission to get nutritious meals to the kids of farm workers in the Western Cape. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/07/f...

MUST READ | Deep into the night while most of Cape Town is asleep, trauma surgeon Dr Deidre McPherson slips into work scrubs, hitting the highway to Groote Schuur Hospital to save the lives of critically injured patients. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/03/b...

BE A LIFELINE | Every year, thousands in South Africa wait in hope and desperation for life-saving organ transplants. Learn more, including updates on Tembisa corruption and affordable lenacapavir: shorturl.at/SjjaW Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

BE A LIFELINE | Every year, thousands in South Africa wait in hope and desperation for life-saving organ transplants. Learn more, including updates on Tembisa corruption and affordable lenacapavir: shorturl.at/SjjaW Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

DID YOU KNOW? Medical devices aren’t regulated in SA. The country's regulator has however started down a road that should eventually lead to the regulation of all medical devices. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/01/m...

DID YOU KNOW? Medical devices aren’t regulated in SA. The country's regulator has however started down a road that should eventually lead to the regulation of all medical devices. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/01/m...

MUST READ | The country that performed the first successful heart transplant has very low organ donation rates. @elri-voigt.bsky.social asks the experts why South Africa's donation rates are so low and what can be done about it. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/29/s...

INSIDE THE BOX | Every diagnostic test, treatment, or vaccine is shaped by a complex mix of evidence, policy, and decision-making. Dr Andy Gray unpacks how these forces influence access, use, and promotion. Find out more: tinyurl.com/mvrbf5ec

This is a major step toward the wide availability of HIV prevention jabs in SA

Despite significant strides made for many in South Africa, oral disease is not simply a matter of cavities and gum pain - it is a mirror reflecting the structural inequities of race, gender, disability and class that persist three decades into democracy. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/25/b...

Battle to Breathe by @spotlightnsp.bsky.social exposes the heavy toll of #airpollution in Mpumalanga where health risks like asthma & premature deaths are on the rise. This article raises urgent questions: Who is accountable? And what action is needed? Read more: bit.ly/429z0nF

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...