Sahpra
latest news & developments
SA’s first batch of LEN jabs will arrive in February. Use Bhekisisa’s dashboard to find out who should get them
Who should get what slice of the pie once the medicine is available in public clinics? And are numbers alone what would drive decisions?
SA wants to make its own six-monthly HIV prevention jabs by 2027. But there’s a hitch
None of the companies that will be involved have a licence from the inventor of Lenacapavir, Gilead Sciences, to make the jab
The six-monthly anti-HIV jab could be in 360 clinics by February. Who should get the first doses?
The country’s medicines regulator Sahpra says it’s on track to announce its registration decision by the end of October
Two drugmakers will sell the 6-monthly anti-HIV jab for the price of the daily prevention pill
Hetero and Dr Reddy’s will be funded by the Gates Foundation and Unitaid to produce and sell the twice-a-year anti-HIV shot around R692 per person a year
SA plans anti-HIV jab roll-out at hundreds of clinics by April
The health department hopes to make the twice-a-year anti-HIV injection lenacapavir available soon and to be buying generics by 2027
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
Monthly prescription rule blocks ADHD treatment for South African children
Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder affects 5% to 7% of schoolgoing children, but doctors can only prescribe treatment for a month at a time, so don’t get too much…
Waste, food and power: How hospitals fuel climate change
Almost 5% of the world’s carbon emissions come from the healthcare sector. Rethinking how hospitals run can get this down. But healthcare workers say regulations stop them from…
Three ways Covid sped up SA’s medicine approvals process – and how it can help the National Health Insurance scheme
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority had to speed up its approval of new medicines while still ensuring that they were safe and…
‘Call me Tumi’: Meet the young woman who heads SA’s medicines regulator
Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela leads the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) — a public entity few people knew about until the Covid-19 pandemic hit
Burn them — that’s what happens to expired Covid vaccines
Vaccines don’t last forever. When they reach their expiration date, the jabs need to be disposed of in a way that ensures they aren’t retrievable. A waste management company…
HIV prevention should be like fast food. This data shows why
KwaZulu-Natal’s state facilities are in the lead when it comes to stocking HIV prevention medicines — 97% of them do — and the Western Cape is the only province where men use HIV…
Here’s who is in charge of buying medicines in South Africa
South Africa’s public hospitals and clinics won’t be getting a new Covid-19 treatment called molnupiravir. The tablets have regulatory approval but they aren’t the right fit for…
Why South Africa won’t be using the Covid-19 pill
South Africa is unlikely to buy a new oral Covid-19 pill called molnupiravir, despite the drug having been approved for use in the country. That’s because deciding to spend money…
Wait, donate, demolish: Why millions of South Africa’s vaccines will never be used
Children aged five to 11 get smaller doses of the Pfizer vaccine than adults. That means the government will have to buy new vials to vaccinate this age group but the health…