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US panel stops advising Covid jab for adults
There was much flip-flopping of decisions and reversals of conclusions last week during two days of meetings of the US vaccine advisory committee, which...
New guidance urges universal cannabis screening in pregnancy
Experts are now advising universal screening about cannabis habits before, during and after pregnancy in efforts to reduce potential risks following an alarming analysis...
Kennedy pushes for review of Covid vaccine deaths
The US Food and Drug Administration is examining rare cases involving the deaths of young people after they received Covid vaccines, under pressure from...
New foods suggested for allergens list – French study
Several new foods should be added to the common allergens list, with researchers saying a shift in eating patterns over the past decade has exposed...
Doctors flag crippling cuts at major Durban hospital
Doctors have blown the whistle about a crisis at one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most important public hospitals, saying it is functioning far under capacity due...
Chronic staff shortages add to growing mental healthcare burden
The public sector averages just 0.31 psychiatrists per 100 000 people, with far fewer in remote areas, with lack of specialised facilities, collapsing infrastructure...
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...
How Botswana eliminated paediatric HIV
Political will, free maternity care and digital health tools have helped Botswana achieve high standards for ending mother-to-child transmission, the first African nation to...
US cities abandon strategies to make drug use safer
Various cities in the United States are retreating from “harm reduction” strategies that have helped reduce deaths but which critics, including President Donald Trump,...
SA pharmacies support flavoured vape ban
Regulation of e-cigarettes in this country is long overdue, with flavoured vapes, especially, being described by the Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA) as “bait”,...
Health taxes under-utilised in Africa – UCT report
Taxes on tobacco, alcohol, sugary drinks and ultra-processed food offer a way to raise finances while reducing consumption, and yet are not being used...
Documents unveil US plan to phase out Pepfar
Pepfar – the campaign to end HIV globally – earned a short-lived reprieve recently when US Congress voted to restore $400m in funding, but...
European Union to stockpile vital medical supplies for future crises
The European Union plans to stockpile critical medical equipment and vaccines in case of future health crises and to set up a network to...
MPS supports Mediation Bill, but urges training and clear rules
The Medical Protection Society has welcomed efforts to encourage mediation in settling medico-legal disputes, but said that for this option to be effective, trained...
US jab committee green-lights flu shots, omits those ‘tied to autism’
The Trump administration’s new vaccine advisers have been slammed by some health experts and accused of encouraging vaccine mistrust, after endorsing only certain shots...
Tobacco Bill vulnerable to industry influence, say critics
As SA's Parliament considers the government’s proposals for tightening tobacco laws and regulating e-cigarettes, the World Conference on Tobacco Control has highlighted that the...
UK ends overseas healthcaring jobs, throttling African hopes
Britain is banning the recruitment of overseas care workers, saying the country’s visa system has been dogged by abuse and exploitation – the news...
Trump gambles with women's health research
If the Trump administration’s medical and research purge continues, say concerned experts, the United States could shift towards a time where being a woman...
Electronic death registration in SA a win for everyone
South Africa’s paper-based death registration process is cumbersome and fraught with problems, and moving to an electronic system will not only reduce the administrative...
Moderna reels as US cancels $700m for bird flu jab
In a decision which has been slammed by scientists, the Trump administration has cancelled a contract awarded to Moderna for the late-stage development of...
United States plans to ban glyphosate
America wants to phase out glyphosate, the world’s most common weed killer and the main ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, blaming exposure to the...
Call for action on booming fake drugs trade in SA
Counterfeit pharmaceutical product sales from online platforms and vendors are skyrocketing in South Africa, according to a newly-released independent report, which has called for...
FDA suggests swopping with beet juice, flagging ADHD risk
The US Food & Drug Administration, which has announced it will phase out petroleum-based food dyes in the coming months, says American children “have...
Minister rethinks state doctors’ private jobs
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s proposal to review remunerative work outside the public service (RWOPS) could bring both benefits and challenges to the sector, says...
Trump plans to dump CDC’s HIV prevention division
The Trump administration is considering eliminating the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s division focused on HIV prevention and shifting its responsibilities to another...
Scrap private healthcare tariff plan, government urged
The government’s proposal for a collective bargaining scheme for private healthcare providers has been described as flawed and unworkable, with calls for the plan...
Trump order on transgender care foiled again in court
Days after a Seattle judge blocked Donald Trump’s executive order on gender transition care for youths in a lawsuit brought by Attorneys-General, a US...
Ugandan intern doctors angry over plan to end sponsorships
A planned policy by the Ugandan Ministry of Health to stop sponsoring recently graduated intern doctors has sparked widespread unrest among medical students, supported...
'Piecemeal' HMI implementation won't bring down costs, say experts
More than five years after the Health Market Inquiry’s final report was published, the government has taken its first steps towards acting on the...
WHO scrabbles to comply with Trump demands
New challenges are looming for the WHO and its partners since the Trump administration’s orders have resulted in chaos and the collapse of USAID...
SA should prepare for 'worst case scenario' after Trump cuts
South Africa’s National Department of Health is still to outline a contingency plan to deal with America’s 90-day funding freeze on foreign aid programmes....
The dire consequences of silencing the ‘voice of CDC’
Donald Trump’s gagging of the publication of all health-related communication and documents, including the CDC’s critically important Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), poses...
Ramaphosa urged to escalate action on US funding crisis
A coalition of civil society groups has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to lead a co-ordinated response to prevent “mass healthcare disruptions, preventable deaths, and surges...
The Lancet stands up for health in face of Trump onslaught
Withdrawal from WHO and the Paris Agreements. USAID shuttered and aid halted, ceasing health programmes globally. A freeze on $3trn worth of federal grants...
Top SA health experts rally to counter Trump’s funding block
LATEST As South Africa’s top HIV scientists worked urgently on rescue plans, including a possible alternative 'solidarity fund' with business support, to plug the...
Chaos as Trump orders CDC researchers to retract papers
Banned terms that go against President Donald Trump’s accepted lexicon are to be obliterated from all CDC-authored manuscripts, with the agency’s scientists being instructed...
Trump’s funding freeze threatens to paralyse SA NGOs
South African NGOs are already feeling the squeeze as US President Donald Trump’s planned suspension of all foreign development assistance begins to take effect,...
Watchdog alert over FDA’s fast-track drug approvals
A new report from the US Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Inspector General has raised concerns about the FDA’s accelerated approval...
FDA pushes to make cigarettes non-addictive
US officials have released a far-reaching proposal to make cigarettes less addictive by capping their nicotine content, a goal long sought by anti-smoking advocates...
Fluoride debate heats up as new analysis suggests IQ link
Water fluoridation is widely seen as one of the great public health achievements of the 20th century, credited with substantially reducing tooth decay. But...