South Africa has a new health Director-General. Last week, a cabinet statement confirmed the appointment of Dr Thembisile Xulu, the outgoing chief executive of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC). She becomes the country’s sixth permanent health DG since 1994. Her appointment moves her from coordinating the national response to HIV, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections into the top…
Tag: Sanac
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Local Lenacapavir Production: Aspen Exits, Eyes Alimatravir
Aspen is giving up on local lenacapavir production because demand isn’t guaranteed. Instead, the company is supporting Merck’s alimatravir pill as a means of preventing HIV. Aspen Pharmacare has walked away from government plans to produce lenacapavir locally. This is the clearest sign yet that South Africa’s bid to make its own HIV prevention injection faces stiff commercial headwinds. Instead,…
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Lenacapavir HIV Prevention Injection: SA Rollout Faces Heat
South Africa’s long-acting HIV prevention programme has entered a new phase. President Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi led an official rollout event in Secunda, Mpumalanga, on 5 June 2026. The twice-yearly injection of lenacapavir prevents HIV infection when used as prescribed. Health officials position the product as a major addition to the country’s prevention toolkit. This is alongside…
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HIV Funding in South Africa Faces Serious Cuts
South Africa has less than eight years before one of its most important external funding streams for HIV and TB programmes ends. Allocation letters sent in March confirm that the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria plans its final grant to South Africa in Grant Cycle 9. This cycle will run from April 2031 to March 2034. At…
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Lenacapavir Manufacturing In SA: Strengthening Production
A new wave of “America First” industrial policy is reshaping global supply chains. Medicines and vaccines are increasingly treated as strategic assets, not just commercial products. That shift matters for South Africa, which still relies heavily on imports for essential health technologies, making discussions around Lenacapavir Manufacturing in SA increasingly important. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed how quickly supply lines can…
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South Africa’s TB Crisis Claims Over 500,000 Lives in Nine Years
More than half a million people in South Africa died from tuberculosis (TB) between 2015 and 2023. This is a staggering toll for a disease that has been treatable for decades. Delivering the state of TB in South Africa before Parliament, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi confirmed the country continues to lose thousands of lives each year. This occurs despite…
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TB Epidemic Challenges and Local Manufacturing Needs
The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) has issued an urgent call for the establishment of secure medical supply chains and the enhancement of local manufacturing capacity. They warn that medicine stockouts and diagnostic delays are costing lives and undermining efforts to end the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic. This critical demand was made during the official relaunch of the South African…
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Alarming trends in mother-to-child HIV transmission
The South African National AIDS Council (Sanac) has set an ambitious goal to ensure that at least 95% of children infected with HIV are tested and linked to treatment and care. This initiative comes amid ongoing concerns about rising HIV infection rates among infants, particularly in the Tshwane district. The City of Tshwane’s health department recently highlighted the persistent issue…