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Nabbed: A Zimbabwean national caught with goods at an informal crossing point along the South Africa–Zimbabwe border.
AMAGUMA GUMA SMUGGLERS

Smuggled birth control pills in demand

Female migrants cite barriers to accessing local healthcare facilities

  • Dianah Chiyangwa
7 min read
Circumcision has been shown in large clinical trials to be effective at reducing the risk of HIV transmission. But devices need to be thoroughly tested for safety before they are used. Photo of a scalpal: Wikimedia user Rickyblax (CC BY-SA 4.0)
ADOLESCENT HEALTH

KZN rolls out controversial circumcision device amid safety concerns

The safety and track record of the CircumQ devices has been questioned

  • Tania Broughton
5 min read
Research indicates the anti-HIV jab, lenacapavir, protects women completely and works almost as well for men, transgender and nonbinary people. Photo: Marko Milivojevic/Pixnio
ANTIRETROVIRAL DRUGS

SA gets R520 million to buy the twice-a-year anti-HIV jab – but there’s a snag

The country isn’t getting extra money from the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria; it has to use cash from a grant it has already been awarded and was cut by 16% in June

  • Mia Malan
8 min read
A throat ulcer. Bloody urine. A sick baby. That’s what smokers in other countries see. In South Africa? For now, it’s a tiny black box. Photo: Canva
ANTI SMOKING LEGISLATION

If a cigarette box isn’t disgusting, it’s not doing its job

A throat ulcer. Bloody urine. A sick baby. That’s what smokers in other countries see. In South Africa? For now, it’s a tiny black box

  • Zano Kunene
7 min read
The pathological hatred Trump inspires on the left and the quasi-religious devotion he commands on the right reflect tensions within American democratic culture. File Photo
AIDS

It’s the ‘Donald disease’ that’s making us sick

With the 12 specialised key population clinics in South Africa funded by the US government, and now shuttered, getting treatment at government clinics has been difficult, if not…

  • Tanya Pampalone
  • Mia Malan
11 min read
The new government must ensure nutritious food is affordable and accessible to all children, pregnant women and mothers of young children. File photo
ANC

Fighting stunting in children is key to South Africa’s future prosperity

The new government must make zero stunting a funded national priority

  • Edzani Mphaphuli
6 min read
Members of several organisations, NGOs and growers clubs protest as part of the Cannabis Mass Action Gatherings at the Union Building on September 17, 2022 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Alet Pretorius/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
AFRICA

Cannabis legalisation in Africa: Economic opportunities versus public health risks

Interest in the economic benefits of a cannabis industry far outweigh that of research into issues such as cannabis use disorder

  • Musa Aminu
  • Duyilemi Chris Ajonijebu
5 min read