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Policy and Law
New Zealand plans world-first tobacco laws for smoke-free generation
Proposed laws, that include a rising purchasing age for cigarettes, have drawn praise and concern over their untested nature, as New Zealand legislators vow...
Strong EU public response in favour of tobacco harm reduction policies
EU citizens have responded in unprecedented numbers to a European Commission evidence review on a legislative framework for tobacco control, reports EU Political Report.
An...
Sierra Leone President backs legalising abortion
In a decision that has caused relief and celebration among thousands of young women in the West African country, Sierra Leone President Julius Maada...
Amendments to Disaster Management Act vital after COVID lessons
The first edition of SA’s COVID-19 Country Report, recommends the Disaster Management Act (DMA), which was used to enforce rules when the COVID-19 pandemic...
New competition rules for transgender swimmers
Swimming’s world governing body FINA has voted to restrict the participation of transgender athletes in elite women’s competitions and create a working group to...
Will proposed new tax policy curb popularity of vaping?
National Treasury’s proposed tax on electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems – known colloquially as vaping devices – is ostensibly meant to curb the...
Political meddling at heart of CMS low-cost medical aid delays
The recent criticism about the Council for Medical Schemes' (CMS) delays in developing lower-cost medical scheme options that could introduce millions more members to...
How proper planning of health sector bursaries could build public health capacity
The return-of-service or bursary schemes used by provincial health authorities in SA to help disadvantaged students obtain educational qualifications in the health sector could...
Stronger measures, tighter controls needed in Africa to curb growing tobacco use
Although average global smoking rates have fallen over the past 12 years, some countries have seen an increase in the habit, mainly in Africa,...
CMS anger over claim it’s depriving South Africans of basic private healthcare
The medical regulator has reacted sharply to an accusation at the Board of Healthcare Funders conference that its “prevarication and stalling” over basic medical...
New DoH guidelines for mother, baby care during COVID
The National Department of Health has released new guidelines relating to mother and newborn care. Writing in The Conversation, Jeannette Wessels and Ute Feucht...
Ban on affirmative action had ‘devastating impact’ on diversity at US med schools
In US states that have banned affirmative action programmes, the proportion of students from under-represented racial and ethnic minority groups in public medical schools...
Trans women in female sports: Fairness and inclusion can’t always be balanced
Any debate on transgender participation must start by asking why women’s sports exist as a category, says South African sports scientist Ross Tucker, in...
Regulatory approval of flucytosine just a first step in treating of cryptococcal meningitis
Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is one of the leading causes of death – second only to tuberculosis – in people living with HIV. And yet,...
An IP waiver will not help Africa – it’s about a ‘scarcity of vaccinations, not vaccines’
It was “stunning” that the proposed Intellectual Property (IP) waiver for COVID-19 vaccines was still being debated, given that the problem had shifted from...
Health and safety office regs need updating for remote workers
Home offices and remote work-stations have become widely accepted, meaning many health and safety regulations related to offices have become outdated, writes labour law...
Compensation Fund Bill: Minister has ‘irrational hatred’ of third-party administrators
Despite all objections and against all reason, Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi has refused to abandon objectionable proposed amendments to the Compensation Fund regulations, writes...
Why US and SA regulators are being taken to court over Pfizer’s vaccine
Both US and South African medicines’ regulators have been inundated with requests for information about COVID vaccines and other treatments and devices – and...
A challenging deluge of pandemic-related legislation
The Department of Health’s new measures for managing the coronavirus pandemic, along with the simultaneous release Labour & Employment’s new code of conduct for...
US moves to limit transgender treatments for young Americans
Despite advice from medical organisations, including the American Psychiatric Association, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, proposed legislation and a...
Botched botox and the UK’s legislative crackdown on ‘cosmetic cowboysʼ
In response to an increase in botched non-surgical cosmetic procedures, the UK is introducing legislation to curb “cosmetic cowboys” through new licensing regulations, writes...
Budget 2022: A small nod to harm reduction as Treasury widens tax net
The introduction in South Africa of a tax on heated tobacco products such as e-cigarettes – at 25% less than combustible cigarettes – gives...
South African government has ‘quietly de-prioritised vaccinations’
Vaccine uptake has dropped dramatically and there appears to be no push from the president or the national Department of Health to change this,...
Poles apart: Starkly divergent views on NHI before parliamentary committee
The parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health heard starkly divergent views on the likely effect of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, writes MedicalBrief. The...
High costs and no benefits: Why SA’s COVID-19 regulations had to change
South Africa’s isolation and quarantine protocols have been changed because they carried high societal costs and delivered no discernible public health benefit in light...
Denmark scraps all COVID laws, despite surge in infections
On Monday (1 February), Denmark became the first country to end all COVID-related laws, while Norway has scrapped most, writes MedicalBrief. The decision all...
How COVID gave African countries the opportunity to improve public health
The COVID-19 pandemic tested public health care systems in Africa. It exposed weaknesses, gaps and inequalities – but also some potential solutions – argues...
Gender Commission joins opposition to mandatory vaccination policies
The South African Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has warned against “trampling on human rights” with mandatory vaccinations and “harsh sanctions” against employees and...
Theranos: A cautionary tale on how not to commercialise medical advances
The fraud conviction of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, the infamous biotech chief executive who promised to revolutionise blood testing, holds important lessons for biotechnology...
Face mask laws link to significantly fewer COVID deaths — 44-nation study
A study of the impact of national face mask laws on COVID-19 mortality in 44 countries with a combined population of nearly a billion...
Vaccine ‘passport’ for public venues boosts jab rate — 6 nation study
Introducing vaccine certificates to control entry to public venues increases vaccine uptake, found the first large-scale study on the impact of a certificate system.
The...
Mandatory vaccinations: 'Ethical and necessary’ in South Africa
There is a strong ethical case to be made for mandatory vaccinations in South Africa, writes writes Stellenbosch University’s Professor Keymanthri Moodley. This is...
Mandatory vaccinations: ‘South Africa’s looming vaccine revolt’
Division over a looming “proxy house arrest” could destroy a fragile South Africa, writes former Sunday Times editor Brian Pottinger on UnHerd. Banning access...
Mandatory vaccinations imminent in South Africa
Following the emergence of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus and the slower than anticipated South African take-up of vaccinations, there has been...
First firings and retrenchments of unvaccinated workers in SA
While COVID-19 vaccines are not yet mandatory in South Africa, some employers have started firing or retrenching unvaccinated employees, writes MedicalBrief.
Commission for Conciliation, Mediation...
Why SA isnʼt ready for health claims on food labels
There is a sustained pressure from activists for legislation to modify many of the negative facets of dietary and lifestyle behaviour, writes MedicalBrief. A...
SA homicides 7x global average, with sharp force the major cause of death
The Medical Research Council’s 2nd Injury Mortality Survey found that homicide in South Africa was seven times higher than the global average, accounting for...
Pandemic shows the limitations to dictating ‘good’ public behaviour
The hypothesis of the outside world and a strident international media was that Sweden’s attempt to maintain a semblance of normality in the face...
Regulating indigenous medicine may be constitutionally difficult
Proposals before the Mexican legislature to regulated and control the practice of indigenous and complementary medicine could violate the country’s constitution and international conventions,...
South Africa and Kenya ‘regressing’ on smoking reduction via excise taxes
Raising excise taxes on cigarettes is the most effective measure to reduce smoking, writes Prof Corne Van Walbeek, director of the Research Unit on...