News | 3 Sep 2021
South Africa’s response to drug use has been similar to the initial response to HIV and AIDS: promoting abstinence. The so-called ‘just say no/war on drugs’ approach from the 1980s has, like many other things from the 1980s, outstayed its welcome. The abstinence approach only works for a small minority of people, there are high levels of relapse, and it is extremely difficult to access rehabilitation services in the country. For young people in particular, the ‘just say no’ messaging has little impact. It is now widely accepted that the global ‘war on drugs’ has failed. According to the South…
Research in 2019 found that adolescent girls and young women, while being at increased risk of acquiring HIV, are not focused on HIV prevention as a significant issue or meaningful priority. It recommends that building a successful HIV prevention strategy means supporting young women in their journey to navigate healthy sexual behaviours and relationship management overall (Breaking the Cycle of Transmission). Informed by this, the My Journey Adolescent Girls and Young Women Programme, funded by the Global Fund, developed an innovative tool for engaging young women on the programme. The My Journey Journal was designed to be an aspirational tool,…
News | 2 Sep 2021
Because we have largest HIV burden in the world, coupled with a very high TB burden, a number of new medicines, devices and vaccines are being trialled in South Africa. And there will be more to come in the next few years. What are clinical trials and what does it mean for someone to be part of one? WHAT IS A CLINICAL TRIAL? A clinical trial is a scientific experiment to understand the risks of a therapy, drug or medical device and whether it will work or not. Clinical trials are conducted on new treatments, but also to look at…
Tags: Clinical Trials, hiv, Medicine, TB
