Marcus Low
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Marcus Low
@marcuslowx.bsky.social
230 followers 440 following 51 posts
Novelist, editor of Spotlight, aspiring epidemiologist, lover of labradors.
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I suspect there will be some truly fascinating presentations of data from this study at conferences 3 or 4 years from now.
November 6, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
spotlightnsp.bsky.social
MUST READ | The number of HIV viral load tests recorded by the National Health Laboratory Service is significantly less than expected since Feb 2025. Spotlight and @groundup.org.za are aware of no compelling reason to explain this except the US aid withdrawal.

www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/11/04/w...
Withdrawal of US aid has hurt South Africa’s HIV programme
The number of HIV viral load tests is significantly lower than expected, according to an analysis of data from the National Health Laboratory Service which Spotlight and GroundUp obtained through the ...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za
November 4, 2025 at 6:18 AM
The second in our series on the key legal questions on which the NHI court cases are likely to turn. Great work from Jesse Copelyn, as always.
October 30, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Catherine Tomlinson on what still needs to happen before pharmacists can dispense ARVs without a script from a Dr.
spotlightnsp.bsky.social Spotlight @spotlightnsp.bsky.social · 15d
MONDAY MUST READ | Pharmacists with the required training will need special permits to dispense antiretrovirals without a doctor’s script. Spotlight reports that they may be able to start applying for these permits as soon as next month.

www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/27/p...
ARVs without a script: What next after major court ruling?
A landmark ruling from the Supreme Court of Appeal means specially trained pharmacists will soon be allowed to dispense antiretrovirals without a doctor’s script. Pharmacists with the required trainin...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za
October 27, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
spotlightnsp.bsky.social
BIG SA NEWS IN HIV PREVENTION | Our medicines regulator approved an HIV prevention shot containing lenacapavir. It provides protection for six months with a single dose. A limited public rollout is set for April 2026.

www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/27/b...
October 27, 2025 at 9:27 AM
These briefings are of the best things we publish on Spotlight
October 13, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
spotlightnsp.bsky.social
MUST READ | Deep into the night while most of Cape Town is asleep, trauma surgeon Dr Deidre McPherson slips into work scrubs, hitting the highway to Groote Schuur Hospital to save the lives of critically injured patients.

www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/03/b...
Between silence and sirens: Cape Town trauma surgeon Dr Deidre McPherson’s midnight vigils
Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town has one of the busiest emergency centres in the Western Cape. As it turns to the public to raise R20 million for the opening of a new emergency centre, Dr Deidre Mc...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za
October 6, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Good article by Catherine Tomlinson. One of the reasons Spotlight exists is to publish clear explainers like this on important but under covered health issues.
October 1, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
spotlightnsp.bsky.social
The Gauteng health department has an annual budget of around R67 billion. This is more than 20% of the South African government’s entire spending on health. For the corrupt, the Gauteng health department is an obvious target.

www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/19/e...
EDITORIAL | The rot runs deep: Gauteng Health’s dance of impunity betrays the people it is meant to serve
The courts have spoken. The health ombud has issued devastating reports. The Auditor-General has again put damning evidence on the table. Civil society has protested. Yet, the devastating crisis in Ga...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za
September 19, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
spotlightnsp.bsky.social
NHI PUSHBACK | A key argument in challenging the NHI ACT in court is that it's irrational and unreasonable to overhaul the health system when there’s no money to do so. Spotlight dissects how the argument is being applied.

www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/16/o...
On which legal arguments are the NHI court cases set to turn? Part 1: Affordability
Since President Cyril Ramaphposa signed the NHI Act into law last year in May, eight different groups have challenged it in court. One common argument is that it is irrational and unreasonable to rest...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za
September 16, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
epibiostats-uct.bsky.social
Incredible article on a fascinating case of a pregnancy bridging the Gugulethu Midwife Obstetrics Unit, Mowbray Maternity Hospital and Groote Schuur Hospital – a real health systems success story!
www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/08/h...
@uct-fhs-research.bsky.social @spotlightnsp.bsky.social
How a Cape Town mother gave birth to ‘miracle baby’ who grew outside her womb
Joshua was safely delivered from Sylvia’s belly instead of her uterus one year ago. Biénne Huisman meets mother and baby, and hears from some of the healthcare professionals involved in the remarkable...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za
September 9, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Some very good news here
September 4, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
groundup.org.za
Only three in every ten former miners claiming compensation from the R5-billion Tshiamiso Trust have been compensated, the Trust’s CEO Munyadziwa Kwinda told the online AGM last month. Most have been found to be medically ineligible.

Read groundup.org.za/article/comp... by Sipokazi Fokazi
Compensation for sick miners: only 30% of claimants paid out by Tshiamiso Trust
Most claims do not meet the medical criteria, AGM told
groundup.org.za
September 4, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
spotlightnsp.bsky.social
MUST READ | The health department plans to roll out lenacapavir, a twice-yearly HIV prevention injection in 2026. Yet, little progress has been made towards rolling out a two-monthly prevention injection, despite the four-year head start on lenacapavir.

www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/02/t...
Twists and turns in the race to be SA’s first widely used HIV prevention injection
The health department has plans to roll out lenacapavir, a twice-yearly HIV prevention injection, in a select group of public sector clinics by April 2026. Meanwhile, little progress has been made tow...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za
September 2, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
spotlightnsp.bsky.social
CRIPPLING CUTS | Doctors have blown the whistle about a crisis at one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most important public hospitals, saying it is functioning far under capacity due to a series of cuts that they say is costing lives.

www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/09/01/w...
‘We can’t save them anymore’: Doctors raise alarm about crippling cuts at major KZN hospital
Doctors have blown the whistle about a crisis at one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most important public hospitals, saying it is functioning far under capacity due to a series of crippling cuts. Chris Bateman re...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za
September 1, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Reposted by Marcus Low
spotlightnsp.bsky.social
In his latest #InsideTheBox column, Dr Andy Gray explains how reliance mechanisms can help regulators make decisions more quickly and efficiently, and digs into the details of how South Africa can make the most of these mechanisms.

www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/25/i...
#InsideTheBox with Dr Andy Gray | How could more efficient use of reliance improve access to quality, affordable medicines?
Rather than trying to do everything from scratch, medicines regulators from different countries are increasingly sharing the load between them by ‘relying’ on each other’s work. In his latest #InsideT...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za
August 25, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
groundup.org.za
Statistics released this month confirmed that 140,000 more South Africans became unemployed between April and June, taking our unemployment rate to a scary 33.2%.

Read groundup.org.za/article/nati... by Noncedo Madubedube
National Dialogue: let’s listen to young people, not to the political elite
A view from the National Convention
groundup.org.za
August 25, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
spotlightnsp.bsky.social
BATTLE TO BREATHE | Despite a landmark court ruling that upheld the right to clean air, air pollution remains rife in Emalahleni. For part 2 of this Spotlight special series, reporter Sue Segar and photographer Thom Pierce met up with activists in Mpumalanga.

www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/18/b...
Battle to breathe: The ongoing struggle for clean air in Mpumalanga
Despite a landmark court judgment three years ago that upheld the right to clean air, air pollution remains rife in South Africa’s coal country. For part 2 of this Spotlight special series, journalist...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za
August 18, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
spotlightnsp.bsky.social
BATTLE TO BREATHE | Emalahleni translates to ‘place of coal’. But for many people living here, it has also become a place of dirty air. To get first-hand accounts of their stories, Writer Susan Segar and photographer Thom Pierce travelled to Mpumalanga.

www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/08/04/b...
Pastor Moses Vilane lives in Masakane. In the background is the Duvha Power station, one of 12 coal-fired power stations in Mpumalanga owned by Eskom. (Photo: Thom Pierce/Spotlight)
August 4, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Interesting story from the US. For comparison, here is our reporting on how the price of lenalidomide (revlimid) has fluctuated in SA https://www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2023/02/15/analysis-why-has-the-price-of-this-cancer-medicine-risen-and-fallen-by-over-a-thousand-percent-since-2016/
July 31, 2025 at 6:12 AM
If this monthly PrEP pill does well in phase 3 it could, probably should, become as big a deal as lenacapavir.
July 29, 2025 at 6:06 AM
I’m very happy that we get to publish these very informative monthly columns from Dr Andy Gray. I have learned a lot from them.
July 29, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Could AI slow science? From the always interesting Narayanan and Kapoor https://www.aisnakeoil.com/p/could-ai-slow-science?post_id=168505690&r=4q9dc1&utm_source=substack Could AI slow science?
July 17, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Some great and accessible explanations in here of how TB and TB treatments work.
July 15, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Reposted by Marcus Low
spotlightnsp.bsky.social
VACCINES | The National Department of Health is currently reviewing a recommendation by the country’s advisory group on immunisations to make a new RSV vaccine available to all pregnant women.
www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/07/15/g...
Government is considering providing a vaccine to protect babies from RSV
A new respiratory syncytial virus vaccine to protect infants from severe illness is available in South Africa’s private sector but not yet in public clinics. The country's advisory group on immunisati...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za
July 15, 2025 at 7:26 AM