Category: General Interest

Categories : General Interest Healthcare Politics and RegulationsTags :

A Humanist with an Unblinking gaze – Professor Ntobeko Ntusi Takes the Hot-seat at the South African Medical Research Council

On By ModernMedia
Professor Ntobeko Ntusi in front of a painting depicting student protests inside his office at Groote Schuur Hospital – the same office that once housed his mentor, the late Professor Bongani Mayosi. (Photo: Biénne Huisman/Spotlight)

Professor Ntobeko Ntusi may be softspoken, but he is not afraid to stand by his strongly held views. As he is set to take up the hot-seat at the country’s primary health research funder, he tells Spotlight’s Biénne Huisman about his background and his priorities for the new job.

Professor Ntobeko Ntusi’s bearing brings to mind the aphorism “speak softly and carry a big stick” cited by the 26th president of the United States Theodore Roosevelt.

Inside his office at Groote Schuur’s Old Main Building, department head of medicine at the hospital; Ntusi is soft spoken, his words a few decibels above a whisper. However his observations are thoughtful and sharp, crafted with precision. Known to call out issues around race and racism at South African universities – “inbuilt biases” even amongst young students – his level, unblinking gaze commands attention.

Born in Umthatha to academic parents, Ntusi at age 13 was named South African Junior Ballroom Dance Champion at an event in Sasolburg. Some three decades later, the cardiologist with qualifications from around the world, does not sidestep public healthcare debate in favour of keeping the peace.

Catastrophic budget cuts

Earlier this year, Ntusi publicly criticised healthcare budget cuts. R200 million was shaved off Groote Schuur’s coffers just last year, as the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness announced an R807.8 million shortfall for the coming year. Speaking to Spotlight, Ntusi described communication on the matter by provincial government officials (with healthcare professionals) as “appalling”.

In February, Ntusi was one of a group of executives at the hospital – affiliated to the University of Cape Town (UCT) – who spearheaded a petition to national and provincial treasury, decrying “crippling austerity” and “catastrophic budget cuts”; saying how clinicians with multiplying work hours are watching patients deteriorate, as waiting lists for lifesaving elective surgery grow longer.

At a boardroom table inside his office, he says: “How we ration limited resources, this is causing real moral injury to our front-facing clinicians. I mean, we’re having to deal with complaints from patients who no longer have access to services they have grown accustomed to. This is causing a lot of distress, especially among young doctors, and medical registrars – the engine of our operation – who are increasingly anxious and taking time out for mental health reasons.”

In his present position, Ntusi’s voice has clout. He oversees thirteen divisions – from cardiology to pulmonology, and infectious diseases and HIV medicine – and corresponding research units such as the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, directed by Professor Linda-Gail Bekker.

‘Hope cannot be a strategy’

Reflecting on how Groote Schuur’s management are responding to these challenges, Ntusi says the hospital’s CEO (since February) Shaheem de Vries, while new, in time ought to bring concrete priorities to the table. “It’s important to have hope, but hope cannot be a strategy,” he says.

This insight may well inform how he approaches his own new job as CEO and President of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), taking over from Professor Glenda Gray. From July, Ntusi will give up his Groote Schuur office, putting away his clinician’s stethoscope, to take up the hot-seat at the country’s primary health research funder at its headquarters behind a facebrick facade in Parow. The SAMRC employs 718 employees and will see Ntusi answer to the National Department of Health, the SAMRC board, and the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health (you can see the latest report to the committee here).

Across medical bureaucracies, budget remains an issue. The South African government allocated R1.35 billion to the SAMRC for 2023/24. In the council’s latest annual report, diminishing funding from government is listed as a threat; while the ability to attract external funding is listed as a strength.

“A key role of the President of the SAMRC is to engage with organisations like the Wellcome Trust [in the United Kingdom] and the NIH [the National Institutes of Health in the United States] and high worth individuals to attract funding,” says Ntusi.

He points out that the SAMRC has had clean audits for several years running – a remarkable achievement for a South African parastatal. Indeed, the council’s annual performance plan for 2024/2025 states: “Despite interruptions of COVID-19, SAMRC’s exemplary performance and good governance led to the organisation achieving four consecutive clean audits… It is the organisation’s intention to continue on the same path.”

On the SAMRC’s functions, Ntusi explains: “For government, the SAMRC plays a critical role in bridging the gap between strategy and policy, and implementation. In science, it plays a critical role in providing priorities for the funding of research, and capacity building…”

In the SAMRC’s last financial year, R61.6 million was allocated to funding 171 “research capacity development” grants, including 120 to women. The annual report describes this as funding “the next generation of health researchers… with most of these awards aimed at individuals from historically disadvantaged backgrounds.”

For Ntusi, points of focus to be expanded on at the SAMRC include health issues relating to climate or planetary change, epidemic preparedness, “restoring trust in science in an age of misinformation”, digital health and artificial intelligence; and projects linking South African scholars with research entities across Africa. “In many of these countries, they don’t have the research infrastructure and budgets we have in South Africa – it is important to assist them with projects.”

To the US and back home

When he was 14, Ntusi’s family – he is one of three boys – moved to the United States where his mother pursued a PhD in social work. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he continued competitive ballroom dancing while attending Lower Merion High School, where a video on child birth showed in a biology class stirred his passions.

At liberal arts college Haverford, in Pennsylvania, he completed a BSc Honours in cellular and molecular biology, before returning “home” to South Africa in 1999, to enrol in medical school at UCT. Here his initial interest in obstetrics was disappointed – “it was loud and messy, an anti-climax” – seeing him drawn to internal medicine and cardiology instead. In following years, he would study cardiovascular medicine under mentorship of the late Professor Bongani Mayosi.

Like Mayosi, Ntusi was awarded the Oxford Nuffield Medical Scholarship, which funded his D.Phil at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. His doctoral research looked at cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR – noninvasive tests that produce images of a beating heart) to study inflammatory heart disease.

In 2016, Ntusi took over from Mayosi as head of Groote Schuur’s department of medicine, as Mayosi became dean of the university’s faculty of health sciences. At the time Ntusi continued treating cardiology patients, with ongoing research projects including on HIV-related heart disease.

Seven years later, against pale yellow walls (the same walls decorated by Mayosi back when it was his office) several art works and certificates attest to Ntusi’s time here. He points out one painting of student protestors made by a friend – based on the #FeesMustFall protests at the university in 2016 – “a difficult time”, he says.

In 2018, Mayosi’s suicide was partially attributed by some to pressures relating to the violent protests; while also putting a spotlight on pressure on prominent black academics at UCT, and other tertiary institutions in South Africa. An enquiry found that the “sometimes disrespectful manner” in which protest was conducted, and “instigation of students’ action by some of his colleagues”, caused Mayosi “a lot of distress”.

Displayed on a shelf, beside a stuffed doll of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu and a 2021 SAMRC gold trophy for “scientific achievement”, a burgundy-bound book recounts Mayosi’s legacy. Ntusi penned the introduction, where he writes: “Bongani Mayosi – as a leader, he was awesome. He is one of the most inspiring people I will ever know. He always reminded me: ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with a few steps’.”

Asked about following in the footsteps of a star such as Mayosi, Ntusi replies: “I am his protégée. There were always room for me to build my own scientific investigations.”

Precarious times

As Ntusi is poised to depart from Groote Schuur, present dean of UCT health sciences Associate Professor Lionel Green-Thompson points out how the cardiologist cared for critically ill patients in COVID-19 high-care wards, particularly during the fear and uncertainty of hard lockdown.

“Sometimes we would work up to 16 hour shifts in the high-care wards; upon finally leaving I’d go outside to find anti-vaccine protestors in front of the hospital. I mean, they were just annoying,” Ntusi recalls.

“Communication around the AstraZeneca vaccine went very badly – increasing confusion and vaccine hesitancy. It is really, really important to advocate for vaccines. And this brings me back to the point of restoring people’s faith in science; redressing the public image of science, a priority I have for the SAMRC going forward.” (After procuring the AstraZeneca SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, the South African government decided early in 2021 not to use it after it showed limited efficacy against mild to moderate COVID-19 in a study.)

Foremost, Ntusi describes himself as a “humanist”. Apart from science, medicine and health equity, his interests include art, wine and dogs. Ntusi lives in Milnerton. A keen runner, he is a member of the Gugulethu Athletics Club.

Republished from Spotlight under a Creative Commons licence.

Source: Spotlight

Categories : Cancer General InterestTags :

Years after His Passing, Researcher’s Cancer Target Discovery Bears Fruit

On By ModernMedia

Some of the final work of a late University of Virginia School of Medicine scientist has opened the door for life-saving new treatments for solid cancer tumours, including breast cancer, lung cancer and melanoma.

Prior to his sudden death in 2016, John Herr, PhD, had been collaborating with Craig L. Slingluff Jr, MD, to investigate the possibility that a protein recently discovered at Herr’s lab could be a viable cancer treatment target.

Eight years of research has borne that idea out: Herr’s research into the SAS1B protein could lead to “broad and profound” new treatments for multiple cancers, many of which are very difficult to treat, Slingluff reports in a new scientific paper in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. Herr is listed as a senior author on the paper.

“John was very excited about this protein SAS1B to be a valuable new target on human cancers, and I am delighted that our findings together further support his hope to make such a difference,” said Slingluff, a surgical oncologist and translational immunologist at UVA Health and the UVA School of Medicine. “The work we published included work done by Dr Herr and his team over a period of years, as well as our subsequent work together; so, I am glad that the journal agreed with our request to include John as a senior author.”

Promising New Cancer Target

Herr’s lab was not originally focused on cancer – he was the head of UVA’s Center for Research in Contraceptive and Reproductive Health. In that role, he developed the first home fertility test for men, SpermCheck, which is available in pharmacies across the country. But his discoveries about the SAS1B protein found in developing eggs in women could pave the way for new cancer immunotherapies.

While SAS1B is found inside female reproductive cells called oocytes, it is also found on the surface of many different solid cancer cells, Slingluff’s new research verifies. Importantly, it did not appear on the surface of any of the other normal cells Slingluff’s laboratory tested. That suggests that doctors may be able to develop use antibody-based immunotherapy – such as antibody-drug conjugates or CAR T-cell therapy, a strength of UVA Health – to attack the cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.

“Selectively targeting SAS1B has the potential to have broad and profound impact on the treatment, and therefore reduction in mortality, of multiple malignancies,” Slingluff and his colleagues write in their new paper.

While much more work needs to be done, the new findings are promising. If the approach is successful, it could be a big step forward in cancer care. Many solid-organ cancers are extremely difficult to treat, and patients often have few good treatment options, Slingluff notes.

“Immune therapy is revolutionising treatment of human cancers,” Slingluff said. “But some cancers have been particularly resistant to immune therapy because of the lack of good targets on those cancers. We hope that this work that John Herr started will bring new hope to patients with those cancers.”

Source: University of Virginia Health System

Categories : General Interest VaccinesTags :

Vaccinologists Keith Klugman and Shabir Madhi awarded Sabin’s Prestigious Gold Medal

On By ModernMedia
Professor Shabir Madhi of Wits University. Photo: supplied.

The Sabin Vaccine Institute presented the Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal to physician-researchers Keith Klugman and Shabir Madhi.

Nicole Basta, an associate professor at Canada’s McGill University and Canada Research Chair in Infectious Disease Prevention, received Sabin’s 2024 Rising Star Award.

The awards were made on 18 April 2024 at a ceremony in the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington D.C.

Formidable Wits alumni are world leaders in vaccinology

Klugman and Madhi received the Sabin Gold Medal, one of the highest recognitions for vaccinologists globally, for their seminal combined contributions to the development of vaccines against pneumonia and diarrhoeal disease – major causes of death in children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Klugman is a Wits University alumnus who received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater in 2023.

Madhi, also a Wits alumnus, is currently Professor of Vaccinology and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at  Wits University.

The Gold Medal is Sabin’s highest scientific honour. It has been given annually for more than three decades to a distinguished member of the global health community who has made exceptional contributions to vaccinology or a complementary field. 

Klugman first met his then-graduate student Madhi at Wits University, where Klugman established, and Madhi expanded, a now globally renowned infectious diseases research institute. Apart from pneumonia, their work focused on maternal and children’s vaccines including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), typhoid, and Group B streptococcus (GBS).

The evidence produced by these two awardees has and continues to inform the World Health Organization’s recommendations for vaccines. Klugman and Madhi’s research has helped pave the way for the introduction of lifesaving vaccines in public immunization programs – including the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine where their findings were pivotal in influencing vaccination policy in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Klugman’s efforts help prevent babies from dying of pneumonia

Fuelled by an early interest in science as a child in South Africa – in part due to a physician father – Klugman holds both a medical as well as a science doctorate degree from Wits University and was the first student in the school’s history to obtain them simultaneously.

He began his research career nearly five decades ago investigating the typhoid vaccine and has since distinguished himself as a formidable infectious diseases’ scientist.

Klugman is widely known for his work on pneumonia, which still kills a child under five every 43 seconds, many in the world’s poorest countries.

As the director of the pneumonia programme at the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Klugman orchestrates strategic initiatives aimed at reducing deaths from pneumonia, RSV, neonatal sepsis, and meningitis.

He has authored hundreds of publications that have been cited over 50 000 times to date and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine in the United States. He is also a professor emeritus of global health at Atlanta’s Emory University.

His scientific achievements aside, Klugman has long championed the need for the world’s poorest children to have equitable access to vaccines. While in South Africa he joined in Wits University’s struggle to allow access to the institution for all students.

“It is absolutely wonderful to be receiving this award, especially together with Shabir,” he says. “When I look down the list of previous awardees, I recognize the great majority of them, and it is extraordinary to now be numbered among them.”

Past award recipients include leaders of vaccinology and vaccine advocacy such as Drs. Barney Graham, Carol Baker, Bill Foege, Anne Gershon, Stanley Plotkin, and Kathrin Jansen.

Madhi’s research informed WHO recommendations on universal rotavirus vaccination

With a career spanning more than 25 years, Madhi, also from South Africa, is a trained paediatrician whose research continues to be instrumental in prioritising the rollout of vital vaccines and guiding global public health policies. At Wits University, he led clinical trials focused on respiratory and meningeal pathogens, including vaccines targeted at pregnant women and their unborn babies.

Madhi led the first study showing that a rotavirus vaccine could significantly prevent severe diarrhoea during the first year of life in African infants. That research served as a key piece of evidence for the WHO’s recommendation of universal rotavirus vaccination. In addition, he also led the first two COVID-19 vaccine trials in Africa, and a number of COVID-19 epidemiology studies which led to the first evidence suggesting that infection-induced immunity and vaccinations played a role in reducing severity of disease.

In addition to serving as Professor of Vaccinology and Dean of Health Sciences at Wits University, Madhi heads South Africa’s widely respected South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit (Wits VIDA). He is also the co-founder and co-Director of the African Leadership Initiative for Vaccinology Expertise (ALIVE).

He has co-authored hundreds of publications which have been cited over 59 000 times. Madhi is a recipient of numerous lifetime achievement awards in South Africa, as well being bestowed an Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) from the British Government for his services to science and public health in a global pandemic.

“It is really humbling for me to be acknowledged for my contributions in the field of vaccinology along with those who have received the Gold Medal award,” says Madhi. “It makes me realise that the work my team and I have done is acknowledged by my peers as being of substance. Most significantly, we contributed to protecting lives in those settings where a majority of death and suffering occurs, and that is in LMICs.”

Amy Finan, Sabin’s chief executive officer, says, “I am honoured to award the Sabin Gold Medal to Dr Klugman and D. Madhi for their extraordinary work on vaccines that have saved lives in communities most in need of these interventions. Their pneumonia research has been particularly transformative in shaping our understanding of the disease and strengthening global health strategies to protect children from this vaccine-preventable disease.”

Source: Wits University

Categories : Expert Opinion General InterestTags :

We Need to Fight for Sleep Equity in SA, Say Leading Researchers

On By ModernMedia

By Ufrieda Ho for Spotlight

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

Research into the link between disordered sleep and disease show an outsized burden on the most vulnerable. It’s sounding alarms for sleep equity to have a place on the public health agenda, reports Ufrieda Ho.

Scientists are increasingly connecting the dots on how a lack of sleep places a disproportionate health burden on at-risk population groups, including people living with HIV, women, informal workers, the elderly and the poor.

This year’s World Sleep Day on 15 March focuses on sleep equity. Researchers say that tackling sleep inequity and raising awareness for the importance of sleep as a pillar of good health could help stave off several looming public health pressures.

The lack of healthy sleep is linked to cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, mental health conditions and dementia. In South Africa, understanding the connection between sleep and HIV is also key to managing the health of the large ageing population of people living with the disease.

Karine Scheuermaier is associate professor at the Wits University Brain Function Research Group. The country’s oldest sleep laboratory founded in 1982 is based at the university’s medical school in Parktown, Johannesburg.

“Society understands the role of exercise and diet in good health but somehow sleep has not had the same kind of awareness or priority, even if sleep is linked to how well your body functions and your chances of developing disease,” she says. “We do everything else at the expense of sleep. Sleep is somehow a symbol of laziness in a work-driven society and we need to change this thinking.”

Sleep inequity in SA

Sleep inequity is linked to socio-economic realities, she says. Sleep inequity might affect the person who lives in an environment where safety and security is neglected or where there is a high threat of gender-based violence. It could also be having to navigate apartheid city planning that forced black people to live far from job hubs. This legacy means today many workers still wake up early to face long work commutes daily. There could also be inequity in division of labour in households, when one person wakes up to take care of children or elderly family members in the home.

Living in overcrowded informal settlements also presents disturbances for good sleep, including high levels of noise and bright floodlights as street lighting. Those who work in unregulated or informal sectors, including shift work or digital platform workers, like e-hailing drivers, are prone to lose out on quality sleep.

clinic that does clinical work, research, and training. Chandiwana says homing in on the intersection of HIV and sleep is critical in a South African context.

“The average person living with HIV who has started antiretroviral treatment on time should live as long as a person who doesn’t have HIV. But what we know is that the person with HIV is on average, living 16 years less of good health. They are more likely to develop type II diabetes, mental health issues, obesity, and heart disease – and we know poor sleep is linked to this,” she says.

Chandiwana says sleep science is still a relatively new field of medicine and the nascent research is still looking to better understand how sleep deprivation triggers immune pathways and chronic inflammation in people living with HIV, even those who are healthy and respond positively on treatment.

A current study at the clinic is looking into the intersection of obesity, sleep apnoea, and women living with HIV. Chandiwana says because so much is unknown, the issue of sleep equity extends to support and funding for more locally appropriate sleep research. Medical school curricula needs to change and more avenues to train people in sleep research needs to be established, she says.

“We have very little African data on sleep disorders and disordered sleep,” she says. She argues we need better data on things like how many people are affected by poor sleep, a better understanding of what is causing it and what it means, and then we need to present these findings to public health authorities to look at it as a public health issue.

“We do have specific challenges in our country. If you are trying to explain to someone, who isn’t South African, how the impact of load-shedding affects sleep or how living in a shack affects sleep, it’s not always easy to do,” she says.

Chandiwana says countries in the global North are already counting insufficient quality sleep as an economic cost measured in loss of productivity, efficiency, safety and society’s well-being. They are also changing public health policies accordingly. South Africa and the rest of the continent stand to be left behind, she says.

How to get better sleep in SA

Chandiwana says: “There is no lab in South Africa that does sleep studies for people in the public sector and no place in the public sector for people to even be diagnosed for a sleep disorder – so services are extremely limited. With something like sleep apnoea, we can’t offer patients in the public sector the gold standard intervention of CPAP [continuous positive airway pressure, which is a device of a face mask, a nose piece, and a hose that delivers a steady flow of air pressure to keep airways open while someone sleeps] because this is financially out of reach. Instead, we have to work with patients to help them lose weight and do positional therapy like training them to sleep on their backs.”

Other ways to get better sleep without costly intervention or sleeping tablets, the two scientists say, include getting exercise, not having food, stimulants or alcohol two to three hours before bedtime, limiting screen time of all kinds in the hour around bedtime, getting exposure to the early morning sunlight each day, keeping sleeping areas dark, quiet and at a comfortable temperature, and developing fixed sleep routines and sleep time rituals – like brushing your teeth, putting on pyjamas, reading for a short period and then going to sleep.

Ultimately, Chandiwana suggests it all comes back to building awareness that healthy sleep is part of health rights.

“We have to fight for sleep equity and we need people to know that sleep is not elitist – it’s not just reserved for some,” she says, “and we should not be accepting poor sleep as the norm”.

Republished from Spotlight under a Creative Commons licence.

Source: Spotlight

Categories : Cancer General InterestTags :

UK’s King Charles Diagnosed with Cancer

On By ModernMedia
By White House, Public Domain

The UK’s King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer, though reportedly at an early stage. This follows a brief hospital stay where he underwent a procedure for a benign enlarged prostate. For the time being, he will not being public duties, but will continue his private duties.

Speaking to the BBC, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the cancer was “caught early”. The nature of the cancer was not disclosed by Buckingham Palace, which is in line with its usual practice of sharing only basic information concerning the health of the royal family. It however noted that it was not connected to his prostate treatment, ruling out prostate cancer.

Well-wishes for the king have come in from around the globe. Mia Mottley, Barbados’ first female PM, wished wishes King Charles a “full and speedy recovery”. Barbados became a republic in 2021, ending the the role of UK monarchs as its Head of State.

Since the UK is a constitutional democracy, his private duties consist of governmental approvals. For example, the king has constitutional duties, such as approving the passing of laws and appoints new judges, ambassadors and prime ministers. Public activities such as charity events and giving honours for public or voluntary service.

It is expected that certain activities such as his weekly meetings with Prime Minister Sunak will continue unless his doctors advise otherwise. Other members of the royal family will be able to stand in for him for ceremonial duties if he is unable to perform them. Recently, 41-year-old Catherine, Princess of Wales,

It is not an unexpected medical condition to occur for the 75-year old monarch – age is a major factor for almost all cancers – just over a quarter of all cancers are diagnosed from age 75 onward. The American Cancer Society now recommends general cancer screenings start at 45.

Categories : General Interest Obstetrics & GynaecologyTags :

Gauteng Health Rings in the New Year with 112 Births

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Christian Bowen on Unsplash

New Year’s Day saw the Gauteng Department of Health welcoming 112 babies into the world, the lion’s share of more than 400 births in total for the country. According to data released by Gauteng Health on X/Twitter, in the province’s public healthcare facilities, there were a total of 59 boys and 53 girls. Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital topped the table with 10 babies, followed by Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) with 9 babies. But all of this was relatively quiet compared to Christmas Day, which saw more than three times the New Years’ Day number.

MEC Nkomo Nomantu together with MMC for Health Rina Marx joined the postpartum mothers at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital on the morning of New Year’s Day in welcoming their new arrivals. Gauteng’s academic hospitals recorded 19 births, while there were 10 births at the tertiary hospitals. Regional and district hospitals had 69 births and community healthcare centres had 14.

Christmas Day saw 387 babies born, 201 of them girls and 186 boys. CHBAH welcomed the most, with 46 births, followed by Tembisa Hospital with 38.

Categories : General Interest Healthcare Politics and RegulationsTags :

Universal Healthcare is Possible in Our Lifetime

On By ModernMedia

Universal Health Coverage Day calls on us to reflect on the progress that we have achieved in providing healthcare for all. As the health and pharmaceutical industries, it is time to question if our strides in achieving healthcare for all are successful and identify areas for improvement. The theme “A Time for Action”, speaks to the urgency of healthcare access regardless of socioeconomic status, age, race or demographic. It is not an ambitious dream and can be attained in our lifetime, writes Bada Pharasi, CEO of the Innovative Pharmaceutical Association of South Africa (IPASA). 

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) means access to primary healthcare for everyone. In South Africa, this is referred to as  National Health Insurance (NHI). Regardless of its name, the objective remains the same – to ensure that all citizens, regardless of where they live or their socioeconomic status, have access to healthcare.

A 2021 report released at the Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC) revealed that 615 million, or 52%, of the people in Africa, did not have access to the healthcare that they needed¹. It was also estimated that 97 million Africans face catastrophic healthcare costs, which push 15 million people into poverty every year¹. 

The effective implementation of UHC would mean that no person would have to go without appropriate healthcare. It would also mean that no person would have to undergo financial strain to receive treatment for ill health.

UHC covers a spectrum of health needs from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care across the life course². In 2015, 193 United Nations (UN) member states agreed on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). These goals are aimed at seeing an end to poverty and a sustainable future by 2030², and ensuring health coverage for all is an integral part of reaching these goals. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) believes that UHC can be achieved by using the primary healthcare approach as it remains the most accessible, inclusive and cost-effective method to reach the majority of the population². 

Globally, as many as 72 countries have included UHC in their national healthcare systems. The countries where UHC has been the most successful include Canada, Australia, and several European countries, such as Switzerland and Sweden. It is from these countries that we can glean valuable lessons on the importance of strong healthcare systems, well-trained healthcare professionals and a cohesive relationship between governments and the private sector³. 

Ensuring a healthier nation may seem like an exorbitant mission. However, when we consider that a healthier population will be beneficial to the economy, it makes for a worthwhile investment. The World Bank adds that UHC allows countries to make the most of their strongest asset: human capital. A nation in good health is one where children can go to school and adults can go to work⁴. 

There is a common perspective that for a country’s overall health to improve, its economy must improve first. This idea fuels the understanding of why low- to middle-income countries have such poor healthcare infrastructure. The World Bank offers an alternative perspective, suggesting that when a country’s overall health improves, so will its economy. This as more citizens will be able to contribute to its economic growth and the workplace⁵.  

Some of the reasons why the adoption of UHC in African countries has seemed to stall include inadequate financial and technology support, limited pharma manufacturing companies, and unclear policies and regulatory frameworks⁶. 

In South Africa, the greatest hindrance to people receiving the healthcare they require boils down to numbers. With a population of more than 60 million people, there is a greater need for healthcare than there is capacity to meet the demand⁷. 

At IPASA, we believe that healthcare is a basic right and that citizens in any given country should be given the necessary access to healthcare. We understand that working with key stakeholders, such as the government, is critical to the success of universal healthcare. Our ongoing work with patient advocacy groups ensures we understand what patients need from a treatment perspective.

We recently attended the Access Dialogue conference with patient advocacy groups including Rare Diseases South Africa and Campaigning for Cancer to gain an understanding of some of the concerns faced by patients and share insights on the proposed NHI Bill. 

IPASA believes that an adequate supply of medicines is a critical pillar of any healthcare scheme, and the NHI is no different. For the NHI to succeed, it must be backed by a sustainable healthcare sector to ensure the security of healthcare provision and medicine supply.

To this end, the NHI must allow for a flexible, responsive pricing model that includes alternative/innovative reimbursement models to cover the cost of medicines and health products. This allows responsiveness to the needs of geographical areas, quality and levels of care, and negotiations directly with healthcare providers.

Healthcare for all can only be achieved by the joint commitment of the health and pharmaceutical industries, government stakeholders and patient advocacy groups for the benefit of patients. No person should be faced with the obstacle of finance at a time when they need healthcare: providing healthcare for all results in a healthier society and healthier world for us all. 

References:

  1. https://healthpolicy-watch.news/only-half-of-africans-have-access-to-health-care/ 
  2. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/universal-health-coverage-(uhc) 
  3. https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/countries-with-universal-healthcare/#:~:text=The%20countries%20with%20the%20highest,comprehensive%20coverage%20of%20healthcare%20services.
  4. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/universalhealthcoverage 
  5. https://widgets.weforum.org/outlook15/10.html 
  6. https://www.iqvia.com/locations/middle-east-and-africa/blogs/2023/01/getting-quality-medicines-to-patients-faster-in-africa-how-to-solve-for-access-issues 
  7. https://www.wits.ac.za/covid19/covid19-news/latest/healthcare-in-south-africa-how-inequity-is-contributing-to-inefficiency.html
Categories : General Interest HIVTags :

Interview: “I Used That Anger to Feed My Activist’s Soul,” Says Former TAC General Secretary

On By ModernMedia
Dr Vuyiseka Dubula-Majola, the former General Secretary of the Treatment Action Campaign, reflects on her journey and new role at the Global Fund. PHOTO: Joyrene Kramer

By Biénne Huisman for Spotlight

Dressed in a dark jacket, rain is pelting Vuyiseka Dubula-Majola’s face as she rushes past bare trees in Geneva, Switzerland. Along with her two children, Dubula-Majola has newly moved into a house in nearby Genthod, from where she commutes to work by train.

In October, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis [TB] and Malaria, appointed Dubula-Majola as head of their community, rights and gender department. The Global Fund has allocated tens of billions of dollars around the world to fight HIV since its inception in 2002.

Five weeks into the job, Dubula-Majola tells Spotlight that a big challenge for her will be to hone a new tool – that of diplomacy.

Laughing, the former General Secretary of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) says that in the past, diplomacy has not been her greatest strength.

“In this new job, I am required to be diplomatic,” she says. “Basically, diplomacy is being nice in the face of atrocities, and I am not that person. So it will be a huge challenge for me, it’s going to take a shift. I will have to keep asking myself, ‘what value I can add in this position?’ While developing new tools and new ways of fighting, without being the noisy person in the room.”

The power of collective action

Known for not mincing her words, the activist-scholar is talking to Spotlight over Zoom while walking to the Global Fund’s offices in central Geneva. She adds: “Activists don’t like bureaucracies by nature, but you have a voice here. You have political currency to shift things. It’s a tough one, but I’m there.”

In a 2014 TedX talk hosted in London, an inflamed Dubula-Majola told the audience that she is angry – angry with her father, angry with her government, angry at everyone. But that she was using her anger to fuel her work.

Vuyiseka Dubula-Majola was recently appointed at head of the Global Fund’s community, rights and gender department. PHOTO: Supplied

While she is in Switzerland, Dubula-Majola’s heart still brims with African proverbs, such as: “When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.” She has experienced the power of such collective action first-hand at the TAC, but now she’ll be applying it on a different stage. Indeed, her new job is “to ensure that the Global Fund strongly engages civil society and promotes human rights and gender equality”, with a particular focus on supporting community led organisations.

As a role model for her new diplomatic duties, Dubula-Majola cites American public health official Loyce Pace. “Loyce Pace who runs the health program in the United States government, she is very effective in what she does while hardly saying anything in public. But she is shifting norms – bringing priority to black and poor people. She uses her allies and many other people similar to her to say things louder than she could…I guess this is another step of growth in my activist journey – to still be as effective, as radical, the very same eagerness and passion, but silently.”

‘There was no time to dream’

Dubla-Majola grew up in a village near Dutywa in the Eastern Cape. Aged 22 in Cape Town in 2001, she spiralled with depression after being diagnosed with HIV. But instead of resigning herself to what was then still a death sentence for most people, she joined the TAC – working night shifts at the McDonalds drive-through in Green Point, while by day she joined the fight to bring antiretrovirals and other medicines to South Africa.

“As a 22-year-old, I did not have fun, there was no time to dream,” she recalls. “I was fighting for my life and the lives of others. I never thought I would have children, I never thought I would get married, I never thought I would love again. Because there was also the issue of who infected me, how did this happen? You start resenting relationships.”

At the forefront of social justice activism for most of South Africa’s young democracy – a role model for people living with HIV, and for those fighting inequality – Dubula-Majola lead the TAC from 2007 to 2013, after which she joined Sonke Gender Justice as director of policy and accountability. She holds an MA in HIV/AIDS management from Stellenbosch University; her PhD from the University of KwaZulu-Natal examined “grassroots policy participation after a movement has succeeded to push for policy change,” using MSF’s [Médecins Sans Frontières] pioneering antiretroviral sites in Khayelitsha and Lusikisiki as samples.

‘Build and regain the dignity of poor people’

In 2018, when Stellenbosch University offered her a job as director of its Africa Centre for HIV/AIDS Management, Dubula-Majola was circumspect. Why take up appointment at a white male-dominated institution shackled by slow transformation, in an elitist town? But she took on the challenge to become the transformation she wanted to see.

Dubula-Majola tells Spotlight that while relishing the privilege of academia – a space to reflect – it saw her away from “the heat of the activist fire” for too long. Five years later, a new challenge awaits.

Reflecting on Stellenbosch, she says: “This [job at the Global Fund] is even harder, because it’s not just one country, one university. This is all the continents of the world. All of them facing the same thing, the struggle here is to build and regain the dignity of poor people around the globe.”

Despite her early misgivings about relationships, Dubula-Majola married fellow TAC activist, Mandla Majola. Their children, now aged 10 and 16, are HIV-negative. Presently Majola is helping with their friend Zackie Achmat’s independent campaign for the 2024 general elections, after which he will join his wife in Geneva. The family will unite in Switzerland for Christmas though – “which will be the most miserable and cold Christmas,” says Dubula-Majola, laughing. “It will be our first winter Christmas and our last. As we just arrived a month ago, it doesn’t make sense to travel back to South Africa for the holidays.”

Overall she says she remains hopeful, adding that movements like #MeTo are lessons in global solidarity.

Her thoughts on continuing the fight against HIV: “It is up to HIV positive people, and those who want to remain HIV negative, to steer towards an AIDS-free generation. We must stop complaining, thinking politicians will do everything for us, and do it ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Global Fund representatives have voiced confidence in Dubula-Majola’s ability to lead. Marijke Wijnroks, head of the organisation’s strategic investment and impact division, said in a statement: “Following an extensive search process, I am delighted to say that we found the ideal person for this role. As a person living with HIV, Vuyiseka’s lived experience and leadership style are well aligned to what we need from this critical role.”

Note: Dubula-Majola is a former General Secretary of the TAC. Spotlight is published by SECTION27 and the TAC, but is editorially independent – an independence that the editors guard jealously. Spotlight is a member of the South African Press Council.

Republished from Spotlight under a Creative Commons Licence.

Source: Spotlight

Categories : General InterestTags :

‘National Treasure’ Prof Harry Seftel Passes away at 94

On By ModernMedia

Renowned clinician, researcher and educator Professor Harry Seftel has passed away at the age of 94. For many, he was well-known for his radio appearances concerning health and medicine. Hailed as a “national treasure” by President Cyril Ramaphoa, Prof Seftel contributed greatly to the study of non-communicable diseases in South African populations and was a strident critic of apartheid.

The Wits Faculty of Health Science posted on Twitter/X: “The Faculty mourns the passing of Professor Harry Seftel, distinguished professor of medicine at @WitsUniversity. Renowned for making complex medical issues accessible to all, Prof. Seftel was a passionate advocate for health promotion.”

Born on 28 December 1928, Harold Cecil Seftel became an intern at Baragwanath Hospital in 1953 shortly after receiving his medical degree, and by 1982 was Professor of Medicine and Chief Physician at Hillbrow Hospital.

An outstanding clinician, he contributed greatly to the categorisation of infectious and non-infectious diseases among Black South Africans. He held numerous positions and received an honourary law degree from Wits.

His research interests focussed on diseases with a high prevalence in various South African populations: oral iron overload, cryptogenic cardiomyopathy and arterial hypertension among Black Africans; coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus among Asians and familial hypercholesterolaemia among Afrikaaners.

He encouraged research at many levels, authoring more than 200 publications in fields ranging from endocrinology to infective diseases. In doing so, he collaborated with many of the finest minds in their fields, locally and internationally.

Not content with confining his teaching to academia, he also educated the general public with presentations in the media, becoming a familiar face over the years. He became known for many catchphrases, with “trust no one, least of all yourself” being one of his most revealing.

Prof Seftel was also friends with Nelson Mandela, having met him at Wits University. While Nelson Mandela was in prison, he heard one of Prof Seftel’s broadcasts and reduced his salt intake to help with the health problems he suffered throughout his incarceration. Not surprisingly, Prof Seftel was a strident critic of apartheid and the gross inequalities it produced.

In his 1973 inaugural lecture at Wits, he said of the distribution of medical service South Africa: “The present situation is deplorable and shameful. The man from Mars who is due here shortly would find it quite incomprehensible. In particular he would find our system of priorities wholly illogical and immoral.”

Categories : General InterestTags :

Embracing the Power of Collective Action on International Volunteer Day 2023

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Zach Vessels on Unsplash

The United Nations International Volunteer Day, celebrated annually on 5 December, is a unique opportunity for volunteers and organisations worldwide to celebrate their contributions, share their values, and promote their work within their communities. The theme for 2023 is: “The Power of Collective Action: If Everyone Did.”

The United Nation’s (UN) fourth State of the World’s Volunteerism Report (SWVR 2022), titled Building Equal and Inclusive Societies, shows that the ways in which volunteers and entities interact, collaborate and partner are vital for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Volunteerism plays a crucial role in promoting a culture of collaborative decision-making and reshaping power dynamics. Volunteers can act as connectors, bridging the gap between different groups and facilitating better understanding and cooperation.

“At Sanofi South Africa, we understand the immense value of collective efforts in building a healthier, more resilient world for patients, communities, partners, and employees,” says Prudence Selani, Head of Corporate Affairs at Sanofi South Africa. “Our dedication to addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges is evident in our comprehensive social impact strategy, which is now an integral part of our business, influencing every level of our organisation.”

Sanofi’s ‘Play to Win’ strategy, intensifies the pharmaceutical company’s focus on improving healthcare access, reducing its environmental footprint, and building an inclusive workplace. This commitment extends to ensuring a sustainable planet for future generations.

The organisation is making a lasting impact through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) legacy project in Mamelodi, in the City of Tshwane, which forms part of Sanofi’s global In and Beyond the Workplace social impact strategy pillar – “to reflect the diversity of its communities, unleash the full potential of its employees, and transform healthcare to be more inclusive and equitable.”

After engagement with numerous organisations, Sanofi partnered with Entokozweni Resource Centre in Mamelodi to make a real difference in people’s lives. The non-profit organisation is dedicated to uplifting the Mamelodi community through a variety of programs and initiatives, focusing on long-term developmental goals and immediate community needs​.

“The launch of our Legacy Project on 15 September 2023, at Entokozweni was a resounding success, drawing extensive support from our staff,” says Selani. “We dedicated the day to connecting with the people of Entokozweni and the broader community, marking the beginning of a long-lasting relationship.”

Support for the community includes:

  • Donating essential items such as mattresses, toiletries, stationery, uniforms, and clothing.
  • Providing 250 Coursera licences to empower Mamelodi’s youth with skills for employment and helping to transform the lives of their families and community.
  • Hosting the Mamelodi Community Health Centre’s (CHC) Purpose Day at Entokozweni, focusing on educating the community about gut health and the importance of hygiene.
  • Converting an illegal dumping site into a vibrant indigenous garden during the Sanofi Legal Ethics & Business Integrity department (LEBI) Giving Week, through collaborating with employees, local communities, and various stakeholders.

“As we celebrate International Volunteer Day, we are reminded of the importance of working together to effect real change,” says Selani. “Volunteerism is one of the most vital delivery mechanisms for social, environmental and economic transformation, ensuring a lasting impact because it can change people’s mindsets, attitudes, and behaviours. The power of collective action is not just a theme for a day but a guiding principle in transforming lives through united efforts.”

Join the UN in recognising volunteers all over the world using the hashtags #IfEveryoneDid and #IVD2023. SanofiVolunteers #InternationalVolunteerDay2023 #CollectiveAction #SocialImpact