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Mail & Guardian

Health

Kwanele Asante in New York in September 2025, where she addressed the United Nations General Assembly as a person with lived experience of noncommunicable diseases. “The glasses still come out when I speak on big platforms,” she jokes. Photo: Mia Malan

For 20 years, Kwanele Asante told health systems to listen to patients. Then the UN gave her the mic

South African lawyer and bioethicist Kwanele Asante transformed her personal health challenges with breast cancer and chronic illness into decades of fierce advocacy for people…

To stop violent men, look at the boys they were

To end South Africa's crisis of violence against women, research shows we must look at the boy before the violent man and intervene where childhood trauma, poverty, and…

Clinics in South Africa and Zambia don’t yet have enough doses of the groundbreaking anti-HIV jab lenacapavir for everyone who wants it. How do you persuade people to want a new medicine when there isn’t enough of it to go around? Photo: Tara Winstead/Pexels

Meet four people who got the HIV prevention jab

As South Africa rolls out the six-monthly HIV prevention injection, Lenacapavir, four people from high-risk groups explain why they chose the shot over daily pills and what their…

South Africa’s first generic semaglutide injection launched in August — and Sahpra is considering 13 more applications. Photo: Haberdoedas Photography/Pexels 

The first generic weight loss drug hit SA in August — with many expected to follow. Will it be enough to kill the black market?

As patents expire, generic versions of blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs like Ozempic arrive in South Africa. But will price drops be enough to end the dangerous black…

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SA and Zambia’s HIV shot dilemma: Demand versus supply

South Africa and Zambia are grappling with a significant challenge in rolling out lenacapavir, a new six-monthly HIV prevention injection. Despite high demand and promising early…

Keneilwe Dikoma has cared for her son, Lorato, who has cerebral palsy, for 30 years. She tells us what life has been like.
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‘This is how we do it’: 30 years of caring for a son with cerebral palsy

Keneilwe Dikoma's life changed forever when her son Lorato was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at six months old. For three decades, she has navigated the complexities of care in…

Donor funding is shrinking just as science has delivered powerful new medication that could dramatically cut new HIV infections. Photo: Felipe Varanda/IAS

Aids is no longer exceptional. What happens now?

The International Aids Conference in Rio de Janeiro highlighted a stark reality: the era of Aids exceptionalism is ending amid unprecedented funding cuts. As science delivers…

The unfinished fight for South Africa's young women

Seventy years after the historic Women's March, South Africa reflects on progress while confronting the ongoing challenges faced by young women today, from healthcare access and…

Potent presence: Dr Zakithi Mkhize’s work lives in labs and lecture rooms but also on social media, in schools and in conversations with young women who need to be told: you belong here too. Photos: Supplied

Building belief beyond the laboratory

Dr. Zakithi Mkhize, a virologist specialising in HIV research and founder of Black Girl Scientist Media, is changing perceptions of scientists in South Africa. Through her work…

#Aids2026: Bhekisisa analysed SA’s first LEN roll-out data. Here's what it found

South Africa accounts for over half of all lenacapavir (LEN) users in Africa, with health department data revealing 31,297 of the continent's roughly 60,000 users are in the…

The future of AI in healthcare depends not on how advanced our algorithms become, but on how wisely we use them. (Canva)

SA tech firm to launch AI-powered healthcare booking platform

Knockturnal, a wholly black-owned South African technology company, is set to launch Hlokomela, an AI-assisted digital health platform. Founded by software engineer Moses Tjege,…

#Aids2026: Daily pill. Monthly pill. Six-monthly jab. Why choice matters

For the first time, Merck has granted generic manufacturers, including three African companies, permission to produce an investigational monthly HIV prevention pill, alimatravir,…

What HIV got right — but obesity still hasn’t

As the 26th International Aids Conference convenes, this article draws parallels between the HIV response and the emerging obesity crisis in South Africa. It highlights how…

What The Polygamist gets wrong about HIV — and what would save lives in real life

The Netflix drama "The Polygamist" depicts Jonasi Gomora's death from an AIDS-related illness, but the article argues that HIV isn't the real villain. Instead, it's the denial,…

When sewage floods your home, it floods your mind too

In Nairobi's Mukuru kwa Reuben, residents face a grim reality: homes repeatedly flooded by sewage due to dysfunctional drainage. This article explores the profound psychological…

Dr Mpopi Lenake says collaboration, research and investment are key to improving access to specialist eye care across Africa.

The Fight to Save Africa's Sight

As South Africa hosts the African Ophthalmology Council Congress, ophthalmologist Dr. Mpopi Lenake highlights the critical need for stronger partnerships, research, and…

LEN can stop HIV. But first people need to understand it

The last person I expected to catch me off guard that summer’s evening was my 52-year-old aunt. We were roasting fresh maize around a fire in Chisamba, a rural farming town about…

Costly legal weight-loss drugs are fuelling a black market in unregistered versions, including retatrutide — an experimental medicine still in trials. (Anna-Maria van Niekerk)
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Health Beat #39 | Inside SA's illegal weight-loss drug trade

South Africa faces a surge in illegal weight-loss drugs, as expensive GLP-1 medicines drive a black market for cheaper, untested versions. This trend raises serious health…

The recall of iDexus has become the subject of legal proceedings, with
the pharmaceutical company denying it posed a health risk.

Regulators tighten noose on recalled GLP-1 medicines

South Africa's health regulators have warned doctors, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals that they face disciplinary action for continuing to prescribe or dispense…

 AIMS co-founder Puseletso Manyaka-Lesofe says entrepreneurship and leadership can help create new opportunities for South Africa's medical scientists.

South African medical scientists drive a new era of business in healthcare

South Africa's healthcare system faces a growing challenge as qualified medical scientists struggle to find employment. A seminar highlighted how independent practice and…