maHp/ACMS doctoral researcher Melanie Bisnauth identifies the gaps in HIV care for migrant women in South Africa, and goes on to recommend five steps towards offering better services.

There is no doubt that data is essential for effective health systems planning. However, any data collected must be of quality. For it to serve the intended function, and to justify the costs involved in its collection, data must also be analysed appropriately [and efficiently]. maHp/ACMS researchers and associates explain.

South Africa has made massive strides in the fight against HIV. One of the country’s flagship interventions has been the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. Nevertheless, South Africa still has the world’s largest HIV epidemic. It’s estimated that 7.5 million people in the country have HIV. Women of reproductive age account for more than half of this number – 4.8 million.

South Africa’s civil society and the research community call on Acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi to do the right thing and follow international guidelines to ensure the Covid-19 vaccination programme is inclusive.

In this Daily Maverick op-ed, maHp/ACMS postdoctoral fellow Elsa Oliveira and research associate Rebecca Walker argue that, “government must support and protect all who live here, including foreign-born migrants”.

As countries begin to roll out Covid-19 vaccination programmes, maHp/ACMS director Professor Jo Vearey argues there is no place for ‘vaccine nationalism’; that the principle of equity in global health access must be at the fore.