Week Ahead 11 – 15 June

Week ahead

11 – 15 June 2018

Achievement seems to be connected with action. Successful men and women keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit. Conrad Hilton

Congratulations Mark for completing your 19^th Comrades Marathon. And well done for raising R36 000 for the Hillcrest HIV Centre with generous donations from President Cyril Ramaphosa, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Director General for Health Precious Matsoso.

Monday 11 June 2018

This week’s Spotlight www.spotlightnsp.co.za will publish an opinion piece by SECTION27 legal researcher Tendai Mafuma on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights. Her piece is partly in response to a two-part series penned by Mark Heywood and Thuthukile Mbatha. An article by journalist Ufrieda Ho on discriminatory HIV practices at the Civil Aviation Authority will also be published.

In case you missed it, Mark Heywood published on open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, giving a frank assessment of our buckling health system, but also some solutions. https://www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2018/06/06/open-letter-to-president-ramaphosa-time-to-turn-a-disease-system-back-into-a-health-system/

Tuesday 12 June 2018

Executive Director, Mark Heywood and Head of Health, Sasha Stevenson will meet with doctors at the Wits Medical School to discuss the recent and ongoing service delivery protests and disruptions at the hospitals and clinics in the Gauteng province as well as the state of the healthcare system broadly.

Limpopo Community Mobiliser Solanga Milambo will be meeting with the Royal council and community members at Ga-mpahlale village in Lebowakgomo area on the issue of school infrastructure.

Wednesday 13 June 2018

Education attorney Samantha Brener, Spotlight Editors Anso Thom and Marcus Low will represent SECTION27 at aCommunity Dialogue on the Implementation of Socio-Economic Rights in South Africa hosted by the Socio-Economic Rights Project at the Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape and the campaign for South Africa’s Ratification/Implementation of the – International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

In April 2017, South Africa submitted its initial state report to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UN-CESCR) on the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights in South Africa. The UN-CESCR will consider South Africa’s initial state report during its sixty-fourth session later this year.  South African civil society organisations are to prepare an alternative report to the UN-CESCR. This week’s roundtable provides an opportunity for social justice activities, advocates, academics, community-based organisations, non-governmental organisations, policy makers and stakeholders to engage in a discussion on the implementation of socio-economic rights in South Africa. 

Friday 15 June 2018

Mark Heywood will attend the inaugural “Drakensberg Inclusive Growth Forum,” hosted by former President Kgalema Motlanthe on 15-16 June 2018. In November 2017, the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation initiated a plan to convene a gathering of significant South African leaders from across all sections of society including the youth to share ideas, build agreement and wherever possible develop action plans to ensure the potential of this next decade is met.