aidslatest news & developments
After being diagnosed with HIV at 33, retired Constitutional Court justice Edwin Cameron never thought he’d make it to 40. He’s now 73 and part of a generation that is growing older thanks to antiretrovirals and, he says, the activism that made sure it was available in South Africa. Photo: Stefan Els
Video

HIV made him expect to die at 40. At 73, Edwin Cameron asks: Who’s planning for our ageing survivors?

At 33, the retired Constitutional Court justice thought he had, maybe, seven years left. His story traces the arc from certain death because of Aids to a chronic, manageable condition at 73. He asks what happens when the generation who fought for life finally get to grow old

  • Eyaaz
14 min read
To end Aids by 2043, the South African government says it could get a group of local pharmaceutical companies to make generic shots of lenacapavir from 2027 onwards. There is, however, a hitch. None of the companies that will be involved have a licence to make the jab. (Julia Koblitz/ Unsplash)

SA wants to make its own six-monthly HIV prevention jabs by 2027. But there’s a hitch

None of the companies that will be involved have a licence from the inventor of Lenacapavir, Gilead Sciences, to make the jab

  • Eyaaz
9 min read
Four toilets, built in 2013 by the organisation Candice Andisiwe Sehoma founded, are still flushing, although floods of raw sewage flow daily through the streets of Alexandra. (Sean Christie)

Building toilets, fighting TB: Candice Andisiwe Sehoma’s life of activism

From discontinued insulin pens to overpriced TB drugs, meet the young South African holding drug makers to account on behalf of patients

  • Eyaaz
10 min read
One in 10 clinics in South Africa will start to hand out a twice-a-year anti-HIV jab as early as February. The country’s medicines regulator, Sahpra, says it’s on track to announce its registration decision within the next few days, by the end of October. So who should get LEN first? (Anna-Maria van Niekerk)

The six-monthly anti-HIV jab could be in 360 clinics by February. Who should get the first doses?

The country’s medicines regulator Sahpra says it’s on track to announce its registration decision by the end of October

  • Eyaaz
10 min read
According to a survey, 85% of managers reported that their clinics faced staffing shortages, though only one in five blamed these on the US President’s Emergency Plan For Aids Relief cuts

Clinics short-staffed after Pepfar funding cuts

According to a survey, 85% of managers reported that their clinics faced staffing shortages, though only one in five blamed these on the US President’s Emergency Plan For Aids Relief cuts

  • Eyaaz
2 min read
Long shot?: In April next year, South Africa plans to start rolling out an anti-HIV jab, taken only twice a year, that could end Aids in the country within 14 to 18 years. But is our public health system equipped to keep track of millions, who are on the shot? (Unsplash)

The six-monthly anti-HIV jab is coming. But can SA keep track of millions of users?

The shot, called Lenacapavir, has a 100% success rate in preventing young women from getting HIV through sex

  • Eyaaz
10 min read

Dangerous fantasy: US ambassador Dybul said SA was ready to transition off Pepfar. It wasn’t

Weeks later, thousands of health workers are unemployed, HIV services are collapsing and the government hasn’t filled the gap. This isn’t transition, it’s unraveling in real time

4 min read
African health systems have long been undermined by debt and political neglect.

The cost of neglect: Debt’s toll on African health systems

The US withdrawal will reveal the underlying truth: African health systems have long been undermined by debt and political neglect.

6 min read
Local pharmaceutical production would help insulation against external shocks, which hurts vulnerable people the most.

US aid cuts: Africa must make its own medicine

Donald Trump’s funding freeze underlines that South Africa needs to prioritise the development of its pharmaceutical manufacturing sector

5 min read
US President Donald Trump’s suspension of foreign funding will adversely affect LGBTIQ+ people in Africa.

In wake of US cuts, SA must step up to protect LGBTIQ+ rights in Africa

The suspension and withdrawal of US support for people’s rights in Africa is a setback

6 min read
Of the 30 countries the World Health Organisation has identified as having a high burden of TB and HIV co-infections, 22 are in sub-Saharan Africa. Photo: MUJAHID SAFODIEN/AFP/Getty Images)

Solutions to TB and HIV benefit all of us, North and South

Diseases don’t respect national borders … governments all over the world need to work together to rein them in

5 min read
The Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/Aids says the crisis is not an isolated supply-chain issue but a ‘systemic failure’ that demands urgent government intervention

What researchers learnt from five baby boys in KwaZulu-Natal about an HIV cure

A groundbreaking study published in Nature Medicine gives insight into what an HIV cure could look like during infancy

  • Eyaaz
10 min read
The naval drill involved the armed forces of South Africa, China and Russia, with Iran reportedly participating and several other countries observing.

Build soldiers capacity to combat the HIV epidemic

On the same day we commemorated World Aids Day 2024, I was at the vigil of a former classmate and fallen soldier who died of HIV related illnesses in Kenya. Amid the sadness of the demise of a younger soldier it was an opportunity to take stock of the situation and renew our commitment to […]

  • Eyaaz
4 min read
Through tackling stigma, community leadership and improving education, as well as strengthened global and domestic investment, HIV transmission can be reduced in Madagascar. (Photo by Sally Hayden/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Madagascar faces an HIV crisis. We can bring it back from the brink

Through tackling stigma, community leadership and improving education, as well as strengthened global and domestic investment, HIV transmission can be reduced

  • Eyaaz
5 min read
Dire situation: A busy street in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo. The country has seen a sharp rise in Aids cases and deaths. ©UNAIDS 2024.

Low-income countries such as Madagascar lack funds to fight Aids

The pandemic is still claiming lives in the Indian Ocean country due to lack of HIV prevention and treatment services

  • Eyaaz
5 min read
File photo by Marco Longari/AFP

Only by protecting women’s rights can we protect women’s health

The health of young women and girls is shaped by gender-based inequalities and violence

  • Eyaaz
2 min read
Zero discrimination is essential to if we are to change the fact that 7.8 million South Africans live with HIV, but 5.8 million people are on ARVs, highlighting a treatment gap

Protect everyone’s rights to protect everyone’s health against Aids

Zero discrimination is essential to if we are to change the fact that 7.8 million South Africans live with HIV, but 5.8 million people are on ARVs, highlighting a treatment gap

  • Eyaaz
6 min read
Inspiring change: Remco Peters, the lead clinical researcher for the Foundation for Professional Development, is enjoying the job of improving the lives of people in the Eastern Cape by strengthening the health service.

A team quietly improves people’s health in the Eastern Cape

The Foundation for Professional Development has harnessed local ownership to provide quality care

  • Eyaaz
6 min read

How taking your ARVs daily can help you live a long, healthy life

Even if you are diagnosed with HIV, you can live a long, healthy life by taking your treatment every day

  • Derek Davey
2 min read
The future of our healthcare system is in our hands; we approach it with responsibility, collaboration and a deep commitment to the well-being of all people. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Collapse of the health system must be reversed, says TAC

Bill which aims to provide universal care through a state-run fund is being reviewed by President Cyril Ramaphosa This content is restricted to registered users and subscribers. Get Your Free Account The Mail & Guardian is committed to providing all our readers with the best possible experience. Please register your free account now. Your registration is your first step to becoming an M&G community member. Register Registration enables: – M&G newsletters access – notifications – the best possible experience Already registered? Login here Want to subscribe and get even more benefits? Explore our subscription offers

  • Umamah Bakharia
1 min read