Week Ahead
“As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.”
28 August – 1 September
Monday, 28 August
Attorney Sasha Stevenson and Health Researcher Tendai Mafuma are attending a Stop Stock Outs Project Steering committee meeting . MSF, the RHAP, RuDASA, SA HIV Clinician’s Society, SECTION27 and the TAC have launched a national Stop Stock Outs Project to assist the thousands of health care users whose lives remain threatened by the chronic plague of essential medication stock outs. The Stop Stock Outs Project calls on patients and healthcare workers to report any medication stock outs or shortages that have resulted in patients’ treatment being changed, patients being turned away from their clinic and referred elsewhere and/or being given an insufficient supply of medication.
Our Education team is attending a meeting with Education experts Mary Metclafe and Mikey Pierce regarding a strategy for the Education team going forward in light of the various challenges the team has experienced.
Monday, 28 August – Tuesday, 29 August
Researchers, Ntombi Maphosa, Thuthukile Mbatha and Patrick Mdletshe will facilitate the KwaZulu-Natal Community Health Workers’ Summit. At this event, community health workers will learn about the latest iteration of the National Health Department’s Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams (WBPHCOT) policy. In addition, they will receive training on community mobilisation from the Treatment Action Campaign.
Monday, 28 August – Friday, 1 September
The SECTION27 Communications and Advocacy team heads to the Eastern Cape to conduct research on health systems in the OR Tambo district with a particular focus on Emergency Medical Services which include ambulances and patient transport. We will visit Canzibe, an area that has been at the centre of advocacy efforts because of the rural hospital’s significant staffing issues. We will also revisit the Xhora Mouth community which first brought a complaint to the South African Human Right Commission on ambulances in 2014.
Tuesday, 29 August – Friday, 1 September
Community Mobiliser Sifiso Nkala will be at Sakhile Youth Centre in Standerton, Mpumalangafacilitating training on the Aids Council Civil Society Forum aiming to strengthen sector representation in the Aids council. The training will focus on the Constitution, National Health Act and National Health Insurance policy including the role of civil society in fighting HIV, TB and STIs.
Field researcher Patrick Mdletshe attend the Durban Opioid Substitution Therapy Demonstration Project. The meeting is hosted by TB/HIV Care in Durban with specific focus on alternative ways for communities to access TB and HIV treatment while highlighting the importance of adherence and what to do in order to avoid treatment fatigue.
Wednesday, 30 August
Attorney Sasha Stevenson will attend a Migrant Health Forum meeting. The Migrant Health Forum was established in order to ensure that migrants have access to proper healthcare. It is a consortium of civil society organisations that assists migrants in accessing health care services and has produced a pamphlet laying out the rights of migrants to access health care services.
Friday, 1 September
Sasha Stevenson will be attending a Health-e board meeting. Health-e News is an award-winning South African television and print health news service that produces news and in-depth analysis for national media since 1999. Health-e News has television, online and print clients and has a nationwide network of citizen journalists called our Health who are based in rural villages and small towns throughout the country.
Field Researcher Patrick Mdletshe will attend a meeting organised by the Kwa Zulu Natal Provincial Council on AIDS, civil society organisations, Department of Health and President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief The aim of the meeting is to get a progress report on the ongoing challenges particularly affecting oncology at Eddington and Inkosi Albert Luthuli hospitals.
The week that was
Last week from Wednesday, 23 August – Friday, 25 August the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) held its 6th Annual Congress which was attended by SECTION27. The Congress was attended by over 200 TAC delegates from various branches across provincial branches. Amongst the resolutions and discussions held was the election of new leadership, the important role TAC needs to play in the development of the National Health Insurance (NHI) as well as its role within South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) . On the first day the Congress was attended by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi who engaged robustly with comrades on the NHI and intended implementation. On Day 2 comrades were addressed by Secretary General of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) Zwelinzima Vavi as well as Deputy President and Chairperson of SANAC Cyril Ramaphosa who pledged his support for the work of TAC. It was a successful Congress that ended off on the resounding note that TAC is indeed back!
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