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'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...
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...
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...
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...
US lawmakers want state-wide ‘generational tobacco ban’
A group of lawmakers in Massachusetts are urging their colleagues to support a proposal making the state the first to adopt a ban that...
Time to end compulsory community service for doctors?
Community service placements for young doctors have been beset by poor planning, uncertainty and financial insecurity, leading to a group of experts questioning whether...
African activists fear Trump will cut birth control funds
There is growing anxiety across Africa – and other countries – that US President elect Donald Trump might end the donor funding for services...
Fears as Trump’s anti-vax, anti-abortion, anti-trans team moves in
With Donald Trump back in the White House and vaccine sceptic and conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr expected to take control of health...
Health Committee pushes ahead with Tobacco Bill
Parliament’s Health Portfolio Committee is going ahead with processing the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill despite concerns about the lack of...
MPs call for Health Department to recoup foreigner nationals' medical expenses
Parliament’s Health Committee wants the Department of Health to consider recouping money spent on treating foreign nationals at state facilities, saying, after reviewing the...
World leaders pledge to slash AMR by 10%
A UN High Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) last week has pledged to reduce – by 10% – deaths from drug-resistant bacteria over...
'Transitional' private healthcare reforms punted ahead of NHI
The Department of Health's long-awaited response to the Competition Commission's Health Market Inquiry (HMI) report includes a proposed uniform pricing structure for private healthcare...
UK nutrition advisers linked to world’s biggest food groups – BMJ analysis
More than half of the experts on the British Government’s advisory panel on nutrition are linked to the food industry, according to an analysis...
Stand-off over President's health compact
Health professional groups are standing firm against signing the Presidential health compact in Pretoria today, saying they are being expected to sign a document...
SAHPRA clarifies B-BBEE policy
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has rejected what it calls a misinformation campaign related to its draft B-BBEE Policy, which it...
Isle pharmacies get go-ahead to supply medicinal cannabis
The self-governing Isle of Man is to expand its medicinal cannabis dispensing service to more pharmacies after a trial last year “built confidence in...
Australian pharmacists lash out at vape policy turnaround
Furious Australian pharmacists have hit back at a new Bill permitting consumers to buy plain-packaged nicotine vapes from pharmacies without a prescription, saying they...
Why SA urgently needs a National Cancer Act
With cancer numbers continuing to rise in South Africa, and with health systems in a perilous state, Cancer Alliance SA and concerned stakeholders are...
Passing of Tobacco Bill urged for SA and its 12.7m smokers
Anti-tobacco groups in South Africa – where smokers on average puff on 8.5 cigarettes a day – urged the new government this week to...
Unicef report warns that 25% of SA’s toddlers face severe food poverty
A report by the United Nations Children’s Agency Unicef shows that almost a quarter (23%) of South African children under five are at risk...
Global pandemic treaty talks grind to a halt
Global deliberations on an international treaty that could unite the world in a strategy against another pandemic have been unsuccessful, with countries failing to...
US delays ban on menthol cigarettes
In a decision that has been widely criticised, the US Government has put on hold its plan to ban menthol cigarettes, a move that...
Britain takes first step with vote to ban smoking
Britain is on course to ban smoking for an entire generation after a historic vote in the House of Commons this week, which is likely to see the UK...
UK pharmacists to treat for common ailments, cutting out GPs
Under changes to pharmacy regulations in England, customers can now get treatment for seven common conditions without needing to see doctors, freeing up 10m...
IP clause sows division over WHO's draft pandemic accord
The draft pandemic accord sent to WHO member states by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) last week was met with mixed reaction, being welcomed...
UK to clamp down on avalanche of sick notes
In efforts to reduce the alarming number of sick notes dished out by UK GPs – sometimes booking off people for months on end...
UN approves global accord on pandemic response
A political declaration by UN member states on more effective pandemic preparedness and response was approved at a High Level Meeting last week, signalling...
New vaping tax won’t put off youth, say experts
Like others around the world, the South African Government has imposed excise taxes on products like alcohol and tobacco to reduce their demand –...
New US guidance allows more gay men to donate blood
For nearly 40 years, guidance from the US Food and Drug Administration has banned most gay men from donating blood, but from next week, the...
Experts call for legal framework for patients’ data
As technology speeds up healthcare professionals’ access to patients’ cellphone data, the collection, usage and sharing of this information can be a concern, prompting...
Moving away from BMI as a health risk indicator
The American Medical Association’s recent policy decision to reduce and de-emphasise the use of BMI is part of a growing movement away from the...
New sin tax pushes up vaping costs
South African vapers would have felt the pinch last Thursday when the new sin tax kicked in, more than doubling the price of vaping...