Saturday 02 November

“What we do today, will define tomorrow.”

Lailah Gifty Akita, founder of Smart Youth Volunteers Foundation in Ghana.

On Thursday 9 April, President Ramaphosa announced an extension to the lockdown period until 30 April. This means that SECTION27 staff will continue to work remotely. Our advice desk will only conduct telephonic consultations. The numbers to call or Whatsapp are 060 754 0751 or 067 419 6841.

The public interest organisations legal support hotline continues to be available to the public to contact regarding rights violations: 066 076 8845.

For more information about coronavirus visit https://sacoronavirus.co.za/. Emergency Hotline: 0800 029 999. WhatsApp Support Line: 0600-123456.

SECTION27, logo, 10 year logoSECTION27 celebrates its 10 year anniversary this year! We are proud to present a logo to honour this milestone. Join us this year as we reflect on the impact of our work over the past decade and share our vision for the next decade of SECTION27.

SAVE THE DATE: 14 May 2020

SECTION27 will host a webinar to discuss social justice in a time of crisis to mark its 10-year anniversary. We will provide connection details soon.

Online, broadcast and radio educational resource map

SECTION27 has developed a map of educational resources available during the COVID19 lockdown. Click here to access the page on our website.

Wednesday 22 April

SECTION27 will participate in a webinar hosted by the Climate Justice Coalition. Speakers include:

  • Khodani Mulaudzi – WWF South Africa – Topic: Climate change
  • Jennifer Wells – Amnesty International – Topic: Human rights
  • Caroline Ntaopane (TBC)  – WoMiN. Topic: Gender
  • Robert Krause – Center for Applied Legal Studies. Topic: Mining Impacted Communities
  • Mametlwe Sebei (TBC) – GIWUSA/SAFTU. Topic: Labour & the working class

Moderator – Alex Lenferna – 350 Africa – Secretary, Climate Justice Coalition

Speakers will discuss both how climate change is impacting the lived realities of all who live in South Africa during the unfurling crisis, and how we need to make fighting for climate justice a central pillar of our response. We will also discuss the need for a transformative recovery program, which transitions us to a more socially & ecologically just future – a Green New Deal for South Africa. #JustRecovery
Fighting for climate justice

The week that was

Civil society organisations remain hard at work during the COVID-19 crisis. On Tuesday the 14 April 99 organisations, including SECTION27, and 40 individuals, representing countries around the world, issued an urgent message to the world’s G20 governments calling for a global action plan on COVID-19. You can read thecall for a coordinated, equitable, and human rights-based global response to covid-19on the SECTION27 website

Education and children’s rights organisations and activists: SECTION27, Equal Education, Children’s Institute, Centre for Child Law and Equal Education Law Centre, wrote an open letter to the Minister of Basic Education raising concern about the discontinuation of the National School Nutrition Programme. The letter contains several recommendations which could contribute to a national plan to ensure school feeding schemes continue in this time of crisis.

On Friday 17 April, fifteen local sexual and reproductive health rights activist organisations, including SECTION27, issued an open letter to the Minister of Health on the matter of protecting access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services during COVID-19. You can read the full letter on the SECTION27 website.

Testing, screening, and vaccinating: What is the difference?
Our team sought to clarify the difference between #COVID-19 testing, screening and vaccinating with the following poster, available in SePedi and IsiZulu translations. Download and share these posters with your contacts. #Stayinformed.
                      Zulu poster   SePedi poster

In Spotlight 

COVID-19: The kids are not all right
Children experience anxiety and panic as acutely as adults do; only they might be better at hiding it. There is concern that the COVID-19 pandemic and national lock down will lead to an increase of physical and emotional abuse towards children and that the economic fallout of the pandemic will add a new dimension of hardship to children’s lives.
https://www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2020/04/17/covid-19-the-kids-are-not-all-right/

COVID-19: Patent victories from HIV fight are now more relevant than ever

Around the turn of the century developing countries fought for and won safeguards to promote access to medicines in international trade law. These safeguards are now being heralded by lawmakers around the world as critical legal mechanisms that nations can and must use in the fight against COVID-19, writes Catherine Tomlinson.
https://www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2020/04/15/covid-19-patent-victories-from-hiv-fight-are-now-more-relevant-than-ever/

COVID-19: What we think we know about the epidemiological numbers

Many of the key epidemiological numbers for COVID-19 are still uncertain. Adele Baleta takes us through some of the best estimates out there.
https://www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2020/04/14/covid-19-what-we-think-we-know-about-the-epidemiological-numbers/

Also read:

Finding money to fight COVID-19: Transparency and participation are the bottom-lines

“We recognise that ensuring space for public engagement in a disaster is difficult, but transparency remains a constitutional imperative.”

Together with Budget Justice Coalition members Zukiswa Kota and Sam Waterhouse, SECTION27 communications officer Julia Chaskalson wrote an op-ed on the need for transparency and oversight during the COVID-19 disaster period.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-04-15-finding-money-to-fight-covid-19-transparency-and-participation-are-the-bottom-lines/

Categories: Week Ahead

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