South Africa is grappling with a severe public health emergency as diabetes solidifies its position as one of the nation’s leading causes of death, according to Statistics South Africa. This alarming situation is part of a larger diabetes data crisis. Yet, a shocking and abrupt revision in international estimates has revealed a parallel crisis: the country does not reliably know…
Category: Archive
Every Health Matters article, newest first. Use the search or browse by month to find older reporting.
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Global Fund Replenishment: Addressing Critical Needs
The fight against AIDS, TB, and malaria is at risk. Global health financing faces severe cuts. This threatens decades of progress. Urgent calls are being made for Global Fund replenishment. Without it, countless lives are in danger. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has sounded an alarm. The medical group has released a new report. It is titled Deadly Gaps. The report…
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Lenacapavir Access Under Scrutiny by Health Advocates
A global coalition of health advocates is intensifying its campaign against pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences. They demand equitable access to its revolutionary long-acting injectable HIV prevention drug, lenacapavir. Activists are calling for a universal generic price of $40 per person per year for all low and middle-income countries. They warn that Gilead’s current policies entrench life-threatening inequities in the global…
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UNAIDS Closure Causes Outrage Among Health Advocates
South African health advocates have issued a stark warning. They believe the planned closure of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS) will have a devastating effect on millions of lives. This also risks derailing decades of progress in the global fight against the epidemic. According to a United Nations document released this week, the United Nations will “sunset” the…
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Precision Medicine: Transforming Treatment Approaches
A quiet revolution is reshaping healthcare, shifting the focus from merely managing symptoms to fundamentally altering the course of complex diseases. At the forefront of this evolution are two critical fields: precision medicine in oncology and groundbreaking new treatments for severe mental health conditions like schizophrenia and treatment-resistant depression. These advancements signal a move away from one-size-fits-all approaches and towards…
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NHLS Cancer Testing Delays Outsourcing Solutions
The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) has confirmed it is engaging private sector laboratories to address a critical backlog in cancer testing at its Johannesburg facility. This backlog has left some public healthcare patients waiting as long as three months for potentially life-saving diagnostic results. The NHLS, which forms the diagnostic backbone of the nation’s public health system, is facing…
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Generic HIV Prevention Drug to Cost Just $40 Annually from 2027
In a monumental step forward for global public health, Indian pharmaceutical companies Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Hetero Labs have announced they will produce and sell generic versions of a revolutionary HIV prevention drug. It will be available for around $40 per year. Availability is expected from 2027. The drug, lenacapavir, is a long-acting injectable developed by Gilead Sciences. It has…
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America First Health Policy Threatens Global Health Aid
The future of vital United States health aid to South Africa now hangs in the balance. This comes after the Trump administration unveiled a new “America First” global health strategy last week. This move is part of the broader America First health policy initiative announced by the administration. This policy overhaul aims to transition recipient countries towards self-reliance. It does…
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End of UNAIDS Looms as UN Proposes Agency Closure by 2026
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the principal agency leading the global effort to end the AIDS pandemic, could be dismantled by the end of 2026. This is according to a startling proposal within a new UN document. The move is part of a broader restructuring effort as the international body grapples with a significant funding crisis. The…
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Upfront Medical Aid Payments a Growing Concern
Upfront medical aid payments cost members of medical aid schemes a staggering R43 billion last year. This is a situation the industry regulator says is causing significant financial hardship and worsening health inequalities. The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) revealed the figure in its 2023-24 industry report. It highlights a system where members are increasingly shouldering costs that they expect…
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NCD Prevention: A Smart Investment for Health
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued an urgent call to action. It urges countries worldwide to significantly increase their investment in NCD prevention. A new report released by the global health body argues that an additional investment of just $3 per person, per year, could prevent millions of premature deaths. It could also deliver a staggering $1 trillion in…