Women have a better shot at avoiding cervical cancer thanks to the single-dose human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, which has now been approved in South Africa.

The much-anticipated transition from the current two-vaccination strategy aligns with recent evidence-based World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations.

Under the unblinking gaze of the autumn sun, the colour drains from the woody shrubs (myrothamnus flabellifolia) growing on the bare rock of the mountain slopes. Some almost as tall as a human in summer, they shrink as the days shorten. Their fan-shaped leaves curl and close. As winter arrives, life quietly departs. Or does it?