Writing
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.
Featured Writing
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The UK just slashed funding for contraception worldwide. Women in Zambia will pay the price
The United Nations Population Fund is the world’s largest provider of contraception to poor countries. The UK’s cuts to the agency are almost three times more severe than anything imposed previously by the Trump administration. Laura López González The United Kingdom has said it will cut 85% of its funding to the United Nations Population […]
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Africa could produce a Covid-19 vaccine sooner than you think
In the current Covid-19 pandemic, the power to produce a vaccine from its earliest stages still defines which countries have a vaccine and which nations will recover sooner.
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Promising results from first vaccines tested against COVID-19 variant in South Africa
Interim results show that Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine was 85% effective in preventing severe Covid-19 no matter what the variant. Covid-19 vaccines made by pharmaceutical firms Novovax and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) have been shown to reduce the risk of moderate to severe COVID-19 by about 60% in people infected with the new variant, […]
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Most African countries likely to get their first Covid-19 vaccines for free
A global shift in policy could be a lifesaver as nations on the continent struggle with the rising costs of Covid-19, both in terms of lives and economies. The majority of African countries could get enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to cover at least 20% of their populations for free – marking a major shift in […]
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Coronavirus vaccine: How will poorer countries get a fair shot?
Even before the world has found a COVID-19 vaccine, rich countries have staked their claim to the first doses. Here is what history can teach us about the quest for a fair shot at what remains.
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A tale of two pandemics: Is COVID-19 repeating the mistakes of HIV’s past?
In South Africa, two outbreaks are colliding and one thing may shape the future of both.
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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?
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The WHO, the drug & women’s right to choose: The story behind dolutegravir
On 22 July 2019, the World Health Organisation approved the use of the new antiretroviral dolutegravir for use among young women.
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#LifeEsidimeni: Why seemingly good people came to do very, very bad things
At least 141 mental health patients. As officials take the stand as part of arbitration hearings, a disturbing thread runs through their testimonies.
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Doing a stretch: how yoga is cutting stress in South African prisons
A maximum security jail in Cape Town is one of nine seeing positive results from a mindfulness programme, reports Bhekisisa
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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
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Need to rethink palliative care in South Africa
For many people in South Africa, the word “hospice” was once synonymous with AIDS. Now, that’s changing.
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October deadline set for ECape health rescue plan
South Africa’s rural Eastern Cape province has just one month to produce a plan to save its faltering health system following the high profile death of a newborn baby.
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Baby’s death sparks national campaign to fix the Eastern Cape
In South Africa’s rural Eastern Cape province, one doctor’s 14-hour fight to save a dying toddler has sparked a national campaign to fix a healthcare system that many say was broken long ago.
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Proposed policy could mean fewer patents, cheaper drugs
ca currently grants almost every patent application it receives as it doesn’t have a patent review system. Easy patents for pharmaceutical companies mean South African patients pay up to eight times the price for some medicines as those in India or Brazil.
Past Work
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Watch: How do I register for a Covid-19 vaccine in South Africa?
Anyone 60 years or older this year can now register to get a Covid-19 vaccine in South Africa. Here’s how. The South African health department is asking those 60 years or older and who wish to receive a Covid-19 vaccine to register via its online portal. Everyone who wishes to get a Covid-19 vaccine regardless […]
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How effective is the Novavax vaccine against the COVID-19 variant in South Africa?
What you need to know about the numbers behind one of the latest COVID-19 vaccines HIV-negative South Africans who received two-shots of the Novavax vaccine were about 60% less likely to develop mild to severe COVID-19, University of the Witswatersrand researchers announced late Thursday. But early study results show that jab offered less protection to […]
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South African healthcare workers will have to wait until March to hear if they can get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
Pfizer says it can’t supply South African healthcare workers with its COVID-19 vaccine until it fulfils existing commitments to wealthier countries who pre-ordered vaccines. South Africa could see some stocks of COVID-19 vaccines as soon as April through GAVI’s Covax initiative, South Africa’s National Health Department Deputy Director-General Anban Pillay told eNCA. Pillay says the […]
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How to use the HIV prevention pill
Antiretrovirals (ARVs) don’t just treat HIV, the medication can also prevent people from contracting the virus. Today, a two-in-one combination pill of the ARVs tenofovir and emtricitabine has been shown to reduce the risk of becoming infected with HIV by about 99% if taken correctly. The tablet is often sold under the brand name Truvada […]