Writing – Laura Lopez Gonzalez

My writing has appeared in outlets such as the UK’s The Guardian, El Pais, The New Humanitarian, Aidsmap and South Africa’s Daily Maverick and Mail & Guardian. I have also been a research and media consultant for organisations such as the Open Society Foundations and Doctors Without Borders.

#LifeEsidimeni: Why seemingly good people came to do very, very bad things – Bhekisisa

At least 141 mental health patients. As officials take the stand as part of arbitration hearings, a disturbing thread runs through their testimonies.

Health-e News: The Big Chill – Health post freeze threatens services

Facing a R9-billion shortfall just to meet salary demands, provincial health departments are freezing posts. Whether doing so openly in memos or hiding it between the lines of spiralling bureaucracy, these staff freezes are one of the most significant threat to healthcare, writes LAURA LOPEZ GONZALE…

Doing a stretch: how yoga is cutting stress in South African prisons

A maximum security jail in Cape Town is following India’s lead to offer yoga and mindfulness classes to inmates, reports Bhekisisa

Will the world pay up to end HIV? Global AIDS funding

We are at a critical point in the history of the
HIV epidemic. We potentially have the tools to end it but, asks guest writer Laura Lopez Gonzalez, where will the
money come from?

Lo que contiene una pastilla contra el VIH

Sudáfrica, el país con más presencia del virus, iniciará un nuevo tratamiento en septiembre. ¿Qué consecuencias tiene esto para los pacientes y, especialmente, para las mujeres?

The WHO, the drug & women’s right to choose: The story behind dolutegravir – Bhekisisa

The WHO has approved dolutegravir for use among young, HIV-positive women. Take a look behind the battle for access to the new drug.

Research & Advocacy

In 2018, I wrote and managed the production of a definitive guide to abortion reporting for South African journalists. The guide was picked up by International Campaign for Women’s Rights to Safe Abortion and Fundación Gabriel García Márquez para el Nuevo Periodismo.

Abortion in South Africa: A reporting guide for journalists – Bhekisisa

Bhekisisa’s new manual provides handy information on abortion data in South Africa, how procedures work and what the law says.

Test Me, Treat Me: A Drug-Resistant TB Manifesto, Presented to the World Health Organisation, Doctors Without Borders

TEST ME, TREAT ME: A DRUG-RESISTANT TB MANIFESTO

CHANGE IS NEEDED: People living with drug-resistant TB & their doctors are calling on the international community to take urgent action to fight the DR-TB epidemic. SIGN ON TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

The First to Go: How communities are being by the Global Fund crisis

First to Go: How communities are being affected by the Global Fund crisis

In November 2011, facing a deficit of about half a billion dollars due to unfulfilled donor pledges, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria was forced to cancel Round 11 of its funding. In March 2012, OSISA and OSF undertook research to ascertain the impacts of the funding shortfall on civil …