#WorldAIDSDay2025 | Scientific breakthroughs in HIV, including those by SA’s many highly accomplished AIDS researchers, have had widespread global impact benefitting vulnerable groups from all walks of life, writes Professor Salim Abdool Karim. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/26/s...

#WorldAIDSDay2025 | Spotlight has launched a new HIV dashboard and graph generator based on outputs from the Thembisa model. Our hope is that this dashboard will help the public and people working in healthcare to find important HIV numbers more easily: www.spotlightnsp.co.za/hiv-dashboard/

US funding cuts shredded specialised services at a transgender clinic in the heart of Johannesburg. But a new collaborative initiative refuses to let this be the end of the journey for trans clients. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/28/n...

HAVE A LOOK | The National Health Laboratory Service has provided HIV, TB, syphilis and cholesterol data, which Spotlight and GroundUp obtained through the Promotion of Access to Information Act. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/27/r...

THE HISTORY OF HIV | Explore four decades of the HIV story, from the first cases to breakthroughs in prevention, science, and South Africa’s fight against the virus: www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/25/a...

IN THE SPOTLIGHT | We explain in this special briefing that self-screening tests are part of South Africa's HIV response on paper, but in reality, the tests are massively underutilised. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/24/i...

TAKING STOCK OF NHI | It seems likely that in 2026, the courts will have to make one or more landmark rulings that will determine the future of NHI. Find out more: tinyurl.com/u9tv9jf9 Join our mailing list: tinyurl.com/82jdsfjy

Dr Cassandra Kelly-Cirino, Executive Director of The Union, opened #WCLH2025 with powerful words: “In the face of devastating funding cuts & geopolitical turmoil, we must squeeze every drop of potential from this conference to move the needle & avert any further derailment.”

One of the best parts of attending conferences like the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society's is hearing about great projects like Sihamba Kunye. If you need a dose of good news today, give this story a read.

Do you want to know what is happening with HIV in South Africa? Have a look at our new HIV dashboard and graph generator based on outputs from the Thembisa model: www.spotlightnsp.co.za/hiv-dashboard/

South Africa has the world’s largest population of people living with HIV, which both heightens the risk of anal cancers and their severity. Experts say significant change is needed. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/17/s...

JUST IN | Around 54 000 people died of TB in South Africa in 2024, according to new figures released alongside the @who.int’s latest World TB Report. This continues a slow downward trend in TB deaths in recent years, reports @marcuslowx.bsky.social. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/12/5...

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...

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...

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

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...

After keeping an eye on childhood immunisation rates for the past few years, it seemed only right to devote some time unpacking the trends and exploring solutions. Ft some nifty graphs.

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

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...

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.

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...

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

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...

FIGHTING FOR MOTHERS | Professor Susan Fawcus, a champion for maternal well-being, spoke Spotlight about her journey as a researcher, doctor, and obstetrician, and shares her fears of rising maternal mortality in an age of austerity. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/07/24/s...

MUST READ | South Africa is staging a sequel to Mbeki-era denialism, only this time, the science, solutions, and costs are clearer, argues Professor @francoisventer.bsky.social‬. @groundup.org.za www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/07/16/f...

MUST READ | TB can be cured, but ridding the body of the bug often takes many months. In this Spotlight special briefing, @elri-voigt.bsky.social zoom in on what makes the TB bacterium so hard to beat. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/07/14/i...

Excellent reporting on the human toll the US funding cuts have already had. It comes down to a simple truth: these tragedies could have been avoided.

Shingles vaccines exist, but they are very hard to get hold of in South Africa. Catherine Tomlinson unpacks why https://www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/05/27/why-most-people-in-south-africa-cant-get-the-shingles-vaccine/

MONDAY MUST READ | Massive gains have been made in reducing new HIV infections and deaths in children. Yet, many of the statistics for children still look worse than those for adults. @elri-voigt.bsky.social delves deeper. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/05/26/a...

OPEN LETTER | Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi’s claim that over half a million people have been newly started on HIV treatment in less than six months has raised eyebrows. Anna Grimsrud and Sibongile Tshabalala-Madhlala want answers. @groundup.org.za www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/05/21/o...

#HEALTH4SALE | The wheels of justice sometimes turn very slowly: shorturl.at/qnlnt Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

HIV activists from the Global HIV Treatment Coalition interrupted the Portfolio Committee on Health on Wednesday, calling for a response to a letter they wrote to address cuts to HIV funding cuts. Read groundup.org.za/article/hiv-... by Liezl Human

PAY BACK THE MONEY | The Special Tribunal has ordered four ambulance companies run by Thapelo Buthelezi to pay back half-a-billion rand. The matter relates to contracts first reported on in Spotlight’s #Health4Sale series. @dailymaverick.co.za www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/05/12/h...

HIV IN INFANTS | Despite incredible progress in reducing transmission of HIV from mothers to their babies, around 7 000 babies still contract the virus in South Africa every year. Spotlight unpacks some of the reasons behind this. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/05/14/w...

Exclusive: Testing and monitoring of HIV patients across South Africa have fallen since the United States cut aid that funded health workers and clinics, with pregnant women, infants and youth the most affected reut.rs/4dibx8e

INACTION? While HIV projects unravel, President Cyril Ramaphosa and the GNU are nowhere to be seen. Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, once praised for his HIV leadership, offers no leadership, communication, or urgency, argues Professor Francois Venter. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/04/23/f...

TB | A swab taken from a person's tongue shows some promise as a test for detecting TB. While unlikely to replace sputum tests and not yet approved as a diagnostic test, there might a place for these tongue swabs in the future, writes @elri-voigt.bsky.social. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/04/14/t...

MORE INFECTIONS, MORE DEATHS? Will government do enough to save SA’s HIV wins? Read our newsletter: shorturl.at/c0aOr Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

MUST READ | New modelling suggests a significant rise in South Africa's HIV infections and deaths is likely if nothing is done to fill gaps left by US funding cuts. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/04/10/u...

The high court has ordered the Gauteng health department to “take all steps necessary” to treat a backlog of 3,000 cancer patients. The department is appealing against the ruling Read groundup.org.za/article/cour... by Liezl Human

Immigrants in Johannesburg who say they are denied health care in clinics have turned to the black market for smuggled medicines. Read groundup.org.za/article/a-th... by Kimberly Mutandiro

JUST PUBLISHED | Scientists working on TB are trying to replicate the successes of the HIV field and develop similarly long-acting formulations of TB medicines. Find out more here: www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/03/25/e...

TB UPDATE | The world desperately needs an effective TB vaccine to reduce the illness and death still being caused by the centuries’ old bacterium. Spotlight visited a study site in Paarl where a promising experimental TB vaccine is now being tested. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/03/26/h...

THE SHOW GOES ON | Exciting HIV research emerges from major conference in US - and fears over NIH funding cuts. We have the details here: shorturl.at/ICJTu Join our mailing list: shorturl.at/Ntzoa

MUST READ | Researchers in South Africa are in limbo amid growing, but still unconfirmed, fears that over R800 million in research grants from the NIH could soon be cut. Catherine Tomlinson reports. www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/03/20/f...

JUST PUBLISHED | A new formulation of lenacapavir could potentially provide protection against HIV infection for as long as a year. @elri-voigt.bsky.social reports on this and other exciting research on long-acting anti-HIV medicines presented at #CROI2025 www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/03/20/a...

This🧵 gives a good summary of the @samrcza.bsky.social's take on the country's 2025 budget speech 🇿🇦

Researchers funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) are bracing for the worst, after rumours circulated that the agency is planning to cancel grants for South African clinical studies. Read groundup.org.za/article/fear... by Jesse Copelyn

"‘It’s back to drug rationing’: the end of HIV was in sight. Then came the cuts" In @theguardian.com, IAS President Beatriz Grinsztejn and Past IAS Presidents Sharon Lewin and @linda-gailb.bsky.social warn how US funding cuts endanger decades of progress in the #HIV response.