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Thursday, 28 August, 2025

FOCUS: HIV/AIDS

Game-changing Lenacapavir to be rolled out from next year

Venilla Yoganathan - 0
More than 300 government clinics are in line for the first roll-out of the widely-hailed twice-yearly anti-HIV jab lenacapavir within the next two years – with hopes that a cheaper generic will become available next year – marking a major turning point in the fight against HIV/Aids. The Health Department plans to make lenacapavir available at the clinics between April 2026 and March 2028, and by April 2027, anticipates that it could start to use government money to buy cheaper...
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NEWS UPDATE

NHI hit with two more legal suits

Two new legal suits have been lodged against the NHI in the past week, one taking aim at MPs over alleged inadequate public consultation, and another challenging the affordability of the scheme. The Board of Healthcare Funders, in its latest action, is targeting MPs and asking the Constitutional Court to declare the NHI Act unlawful and invalid because Parliament failed to conduct a proper public consultation process. And business lobby group Sakelige, yesterday became the latest and seventh organisation to launch legal action against the Act, asking the High Court to declare it unconstitutional and invalid. Business Day reports that the...

CMS seeks legal advice on racial profiling findings

The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) is consulting lawyers on how to proceed against the three medical aids named in the Section 59 “racial profiling” investigation – after the July publication of a report saying some black, coloured and Indian medical professionals had their right to procedural fairness violated. The report had focused on Discovery, the Government Employment Medical Scheme (GEMS) and MedScheme, all of whom, as well as the Board of Healthcare Funders, strongly opposed the findings, calling the investigation fundamentally flawed, reports BusinessTech. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the CMS was in the process of procuring a firm of...

SA mulls law review on migrant healthcare

Non-South Africans are not entitled to the full package of comprehensive healthcare provided to this country’s citizens, the chairperson of Parliament’s Health Portfolio Committee has said, calling for urgent legislative reform to address the mounting disruptions by Operation Dudula activists. Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo's remarks come in the wake of Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s warning to the vigilantes that legislation governing access to public health services will not be changed under pressure. SowetanLIVE reports that Dhlomo was addressing committee members last Thursday after videos on social media showed Operation Dudula thugs preventing foreigners from entering clinics and some hospitals. He added that foreign...

SA experts flag glucose 'wellness' monitors

Medical experts have expressed concern about continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) being promoted and sold in South Africa as wellness gadgets for tracking food and lifestyle, saying that for diabetics who depend on them, inaccurate readings could be life-threatening. They have warned that the booming CGM market lacks proper regulation, leaving patients vulnerable to devices that may not have been rigorously tested, reports TimesLIVE. Kirsten de Klerk, co-founder of SA Diabetes Advocacy (SADA), said: “We have seen CGMs being promoted to track how food and lifestyle impact people’s glucose levels. But for people with diabetes, they are more than just a tool...

UK approves new bladder cancer treatment

Experts say a new treatment for advanced bladder cancer, which has just been approved by NHS England, could double survival time for patients and usher in a “fundamental shift” in care for patients with late-stage disease. The Independent reports that treatment for advanced bladder cancer had not significantly changed since the 1980s, and that there had been “unmet need” for patients, with around 29% of those diagnosed with stage 4 cancer – when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body – surviving for a year after diagnosis. The NHS believes 1 250 people a year could benefit from...

Eastern Cape acts to ease staff shortages, but concerns linger

The dire shortage of medical staff and the critical number of vacancies at Eastern Cape hospitals and clinics – and others, nationwide – may be easing up with the government’s plan to hire 1 200 doctors, 200 nurses and 250 other health professionals, at a cost of R1.7bn, but some experts remain sceptical. By the end of June, Eastern Cape Health had already hired 115 medical officers and 558 nurses, reports Daily Dispatch. The figures were disclosed in the Bhisho legislature by Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa in response to questions by DA MPL Jane Cowley. Capa said many other posts had...

Legal battle over US foreign aid cuts

Health advocates from the US, Kenya and SA have sounded the alarm over the impacts of America’s foreign aid suspension, urging a US court to reconsider a ruling on the constitutionality of the funding block, with a reminder that once a malnourished infant dies, no restoration of funds can undo the loss. Each day of suspended support compounds the toll: vaccination gaps fuel outbreaks, and shuttered clinics sever lifelines for survivors of violence and displacement, according to the court documents filed by several groups in an ongoing legal challenge to the suspension of nearly all foreign support and the dismantling...

Woman dies after allergic reaction from CT scan

What began as a routine medical examination turned tragic when a recently graduated 22-year-old Brazilian lawyer went into anaphylactic shock during a CT scan and died less than a day later, reports The Independent. Leticia Paul suffered a severe allergic reaction to a contrast agent used in the scan at Alto Vale Regional Hospital in Rio do Sul, Brazil, last week, and although she was intubated and doctors attempted life-saving measures, she died less than 24 hours later. Paul’s aunt, Sandra Paul, said her niece had been undergoing a routine check-up – because she has a history of kidney stones – at the time. Anaphylactic shock is...

NHLS corruption clean-up pays dividends

Strategies that include a tip-off hotline are helping the beleaguered National Health Laboratory Service reduce fraud and criminality – after the organisation was rocked by a scandal several years ago involving contracts worth about R200m, which implicated its former chief executive and chief financial officer, reports Daily Maverick. As part of a written answer to a question in Parliament, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has published data and information showing that the NHLS has been tackling crime and corruption – and that acting on public tip-offs is paying dividends. The NHLS is the primary provider of diagnostic pathology services to the public...

SA companies lose out on ARV drugs tender

The National Department of Health’s decision to give the lion’s share of the latest R15.5bn Aids drug tender to Aspen Pharmacare but shun many of the country’s biggest pharmaceutical manufacturers has received a backlash, reports Business Day. Boosting Africa’s capacity to make its own vaccines and medicines has long been urged by leaders and the African Union, but this latest Aids drug tender sees only Aspen maintaining a share of the core R12.6bn contract to supply the daily pill taken by most adults, which combines tenofovir, lamivudine and dolutegravir (TLD). Cipla and Sisonke, which won a portion of the TLD contract...

Botswana declares health emergency as vital medical stocks dry up

A public health emergency has been declared in Botswana, where hospitals and clinics are running out of medicine and other vital supplies and surgeries are having to be postponed, reports Reuters. On Monday, President Duma Boko said the military would oversee an emergency distribution drive, and the first trucks would leave the capital Gaborone and head to remote areas by the evening. The Health Ministry warned this month that supplies were running out, due to unspecified financial challenges, and that all non-urgent surgery had been postponed. Medicines for hypertension, cancer, diabetes, tuberculosis, eye conditions, asthma, sexual reproductive health and mental health conditions...

Zimbabwe moves on universal healthcare coverage

A new Bill before Zimbabwe’s Parliament aims to provide healthcare for everyone in the country, forcing even private hospitals to fall in line, but as in South Africa, it is still unclear how the system will be financed, reports BusinessLIVE. The Medical Services Amendment Bill gives the state authority to regulate medical costs, provide emergency care – and punish parents or guardians who prevent children from receiving critical medical care. Speaking during the second reading of the Bill, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said it aligns with constitutional guarantees of access to health for all, including permanent residents. The Bill requires every institution,...

Nigeria cuts import reliance to produce test kits for HIV, TB, malaria

In a major initiative to fill a gap left by US aid cuts, Codix Bio, Nigeria’s WHO-licensed diagnostics factory, is to produce 147m rapid diagnostic test kits for HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, reports SciDev.Net. Production began this month with 70% of the manufacturing content sourced locally, while key inputs such as “uncut sheets” and the enzymes used on them were imported, said Mary Ogangwu, chief operating officer at Codix Pharma, which runs the facility. This marks the first time an African facility will manufacture these health tools at such scale, addressing shortages that have affected hospitals and health centres after the...

SA man overdoses after accused of selling paint as edible colouring

The owner of a company in Mookgophong (Naboomspruit) in Limpopo that manufactures cake colouring was admitted to hospital last week after a suicide attempt, in the wake of a Carte Blanche exposé in which it was alleged his products contained toxic car paint and printer ink. News24 reports that several former staff from Andries Kemp’s company, Rolkem, claimed on the programme that the company would buy non-edible colour products and sell them to bakers wanting to decorate their cakes or cupcakes with gold, glitter or bright colours. Rolkem maintains this is a smear campaign and that it is taking legal action...

Californian tests positive for plague

Another American tested positive for plague after a camping trip in California, the latest in a string of positive cases in the western United States, reports The Independent. Health officials in El Dorado County say the man might have been bitten by an infected flea while in the South Lake Tahoe area. He is currently under the care of a doctor and recovering at home, they said. Several cases of the plague, both in humans and animals, have been reported across the country so far this year. Earlier this month, a cat in Colorado tested positive for the plague and died. Last month, an...

Aspen Pharmacare bracing for R4bn loss

Aspen Pharmacare, valued at just under R50bn on the JSE, said it expects to report a loss of R4bn for its 2025 financial year, as restructuring costs in China and impairments totalling more than R4bin affect the company’s earnings. Daily Investor reports that as Africa’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, it owns and operates facilities in Gqeberha and France, where it manufactures finished dose products for third parties. However, last week it announced that it anticipates a significant drop in earnings for the year ended 30 June 2025, after high restructuring costs in China. It expects: • Normalised headline earnings per share down between 27%...

Kellogg commits to removing dyes from cereals by 2027

WK Kellogg Co plans to remove artificial dyes from its breakfast cereals in the next two and a half years,  as US food producers face increasing pressure from the government and consumers to phase out synthetic colourings from their products. Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton said Kellogg had signed an agreement assuring his office that the Michigan-based company would “permanently remove toxic dyes" from its cereals by the end of 2027, reports Scripps News. Paxton launched an investigation this year into whether Kellogg violated state consumer protection laws by continuing to use blue, red, yellow, green and orange artificial dyes. Around the...

MEDICO-LEGAL

Gauteng Health ordered to treat cancer patients – immediately

The Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) has instructed the provincial Department of Health to immediately provide cancer treatment to patients on a backlog list – some of whom have already died since being on the list, reports TimesLIVE. The order is a victory for the Cancer Alliance and SECTION27, which have argued in court that it is a matter of life and death for these patients, who will suffer irreparable harm if the court order made in March to initiate treatment is not immediately enforced. Last Tuesday, Judge Fiona Dippenaar agreed. She said the backlog meant that patients were being denied treatment...

HPCSA slammed as sex pest dentist continues to practise

A children’s rights organisation is accusing the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) of dereliction of its duties by allowing a dentist sentenced for the sexual abuse of a teenager to continue to practise in George, reports Rapport. Dr Ian Venter was sentenced to four years’ correctional supervision in 2011 for having sex with a teenaged boy (15). In 2015, he was arrested for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old, convicted of that offence in 2019, and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. The HPSCA said it received complaints from the public and found Venter guilty of unprofessional conduct in 2022. His registration was suspended...

Treasury defends tender for allegedly “untested” circumcision device

The awarding of a tender by National Treasury for a circumcision device has been challenged in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), with accusations that it is unsafe and untested, particularly for boys aged 10-14. However, writes Tania Broughton for GroundUp, the state has defended its decision, saying that bidders did not have to present scientific data to support the device’s use on adolescent boys. The device is to be used at provincial health centres and the military in South Africa, but the award of the tender to CircumQ is being challenged by Unicirc, which also bid for the tender, and which says...

Surgeon sued after botched transgender genital surgeries

A top United States surgeon who specialises in transgender operations is being sued by two patients who claim their procedures at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) left them with deformed genitals, reports Daily Mail. The anonymous transgender men have filed separate lawsuits over their “botched” phalloplasties by Dr Curtis Cetrulo, a renowned plastic surgeon who performed the first successful penis transplant in America in 2016, and who worked at MGH’s Transgender Health Programme. The lawsuits claim that the “delayed abdominal phalloplasty” surgeries on both patients were “untested and experimental” procedures that resulted in severe complications. According to the court filings, a delayed abdominal...

SOME RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS IN THE PAST WEEK

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Doctors' performance dips when not using AI to ID colon cancer – European study

Recent research found an alarming 6% drop in tumour detection rates when doctors performed procedures without artificial intelligence (AI) assistance, reports Fox News. The study by European researchers investigated how...

AUDIOLOGY

Hearing aid before the age of 70 cuts dementia risk – US study

People who use a hearing aid before the age of 70 can dramatically reduce their risk of dementia, suggest researchers in America, whose study highlighted the importance of early intervention...

BIOTECHNOLOGY

Pioneering Israeli therapy could pause ageing, cure disease

A new therapy aims to recharge cells with “batteries” from the placenta of newborns, which the scientists hope could treat incurable diseases and keep bodies younger, for longer, reports...

NEUROLOGY

Fatty acids could protect women from Alzheimer’s – London study

Scientists have suggested that lipids could play a role in Alzheimer’s, their study indicating a possible causal link between the disease and fatty acids, and showing that women with...

OPTHALMOLOGY

Diabetes drugs tied to optic nerve disorder risk – US study

Experts are urging screening and monitoring for eye disease for all patients on GLP-1 receptor agonists, after a large retrospective study suggested the risk of new-onset diabetic retinopathy (DR)...

ABOUT US

MedicalBrief is Africa’s authoritative weekly digest of medical matters, both on the continent and around the world. It brings you a succinct summary of the latest developments, both in news and research, with links to the original material. Contact us: info@medicalbrief.co.za

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