Between April and June 2025, a scaled down team began monitoring. During the three months we carried out 32,530 surveys with public healthcare users, and spoke to facility staff to assess 326 facilities in 16 districts, across 6 provinces. The data reveal the impact of the PEPFAR disruptions following the U.S funding cuts earlier in the year.
How a campaign got 77% more people living with HIV a 3 month supply of ARVs in Thabo Mofutsanyana #MoreARVPillsNow
On World AIDS Day the government announced plans to get an additional 1.1 million people on HIV treatment. To do that we need to use all the tools available to […]
4th edition Ritshidze report reveals shorter waits & better HIV services — but key populations still face abuse & discrimination
The ill treatment of members of key populations is among ten key issues outlined in the fourth edition of a new Ritshidze State of Health report in KwaZulu-Natal. The report will be launched at a community meeting in Umlazi today.
4th edition Ritshidze report reveals high numbers of people refused services in Eastern Cape
Denial of services are among ten key issues outlined in the fourth edition of a new Ritshidze State of Health report in the Eastern Cape. The report will be launched at two district community meetings this week — in Buffalo City and OR Tambo.
4th edition Ritshidze report reveals only 17% of people with HIV get 3 month supply of ARVs in the Free State
Delays in providing longer ARV refills are among ten key issues outlined in the fourth edition of a new Ritshidze State of Health report in the Free State. The report will be launched at two district community meetings this week — in Bethlehem today (Thabo Mofutsanyana) and Thabong on Thursday (Lejweleputswa).
“They are just homophobic at that clinic. The nurses will laugh at me, gossip about me”
Kaizer* tells us how without fail, each time he’s been to Kanyamazane Clinic he’s met with nurses who mistreat him because of his sexual orientation. Discrimination towards members of key populations is one of ten issues raised in our new Mpumalanga State of Health report. Read Kaizer’s full story here.
“We are not attended to if we do not have IDs. They are chasing us out and shouting at us”
In the last year, 230 people interviewed by Ritshidze across Mpumalanga had been denied services because they did not have an identity document. Find out more in our latest State of Health report — and watch the video to hear one migrant’s experience at a clinic in Mbombela.
“It is an inconvenience to waste another day waiting in the queues & I worried if it was really my medicine”
The carelessness of lost patient files from bad filing systems in clinics can cause public healthcare users distress and anxiety. This is one of ten issues outlined in the latest edition of a Ritshidze State of Health report in Mpumalanga. Read/watch stories here about how lost files impact people.
“I pleaded with her, explaining that I was a sex worker, but she told me she would not give me the lubricant”
The lack of availability of lubricant is another challenge outlined in the latest edition of a Ritshidze State of Health report in Mpumalanga, launched today. Despite being a basic HIV prevention tool only 29% of clinics monitored in Mpumalanga had lubricant available. Read about some people’s experiences trying to get lube here.
“When they do a viral load test they don’t tell you the results. Since I started ARVs, I’ve never known what my viral load is”
Treatment literacy educates and empowers people to understand how they can be treated, and how transmission can be prevented. But according to the latest State of Health report, clinics in Mpumalanga are falling behind in providing this information to people living with HIV. Watch the videos here to see how this disempowers people.
About RITSHIDZE
“Ritshidze” — meaning “Saving Our Lives” in TshiVenda — has been developed by people living with HIV and activists to hold the South African government and aid agencies accountable to improve overall HIV and TB service delivery.
Partner organisations include the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), the National Association of People Living with HIV (NAPWA), Positive Action Campaign, Positive Women’s Network (PWN) and the South African Network of Religious Leaders Living with and affected by HIV/AIDS (SANERELA+)—in alliance with Health Global Access Project (Health GAP), the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), and Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law.
CLICK HERE to read more and see where we work.