10 November 2022, Johannesburg – SECTION27 and partner organisations invite you to a webinar and launch of an online publication titled: ‘Free healthcare services in South Africa: A case for all mothers and children, at a webinar on 14 November 2022.
This publication follows SECTION27’s court application after receiving complaints from pregnant women and mothers of young children who were denied access to free healthcare or were required to pay fees to access healthcare services at public hospitals in Gauteng. The booklet is a collaborative effort between SECTION27, Jesuit Refugee Service, Lawyers for Human Rights, Doctors without Borders, Treatment Action Campaign and Centre for Child Law.
The webinar will focus on what the law says about free healthcare services for people in South Africa. In addition, it will tackle facts and myths surrounding access to healthcare services, including whether or not migrant persons burden the South African healthcare system. The panellists will also give perspectives on the medical consequences of denying people primary and emergency healthcare and the plight of undocumented children in accessing healthcare services.
Webinar Details:
Title: Free healthcare in South Africa: What the law really says
Date: 14 November 2022
Time: 10:00 – 11:30 AM
Registration Link: https://tinyurl.com/MaternalHealthWebinar
Speakers:
Sibusisiwe Ndlela
Sibusisiwe Ndlela is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa, and works as such in the Health Rights Programme at SECTION27. Her focus areas at SECTION27 include: migrant health, HIV and the law, and access to abortion. Her areas of interest include sexual and reproductive health and rights, human rights litigation, and administrative and constitutional law. She is a part of the SECTION27 team that has launched the application against the National Department of Health, the Gauteng Department of Health and Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital to confirm that all pregnant women and children under 6, irrespective of nationality and documentation status, are entitled to access free health services at all public health establishment.
Liesl Muller
Liesl Muller is a senior attorney at the Centre for Child Law with more than ten years litigation experience. She provides direct legal services to children, and supports the Centre’s strategic litigation. She was previously the head of the Statelessness Project at Lawyers for Human Rights, one of the only projects of its kind in South Africa and the region, where she drove strategic litigation to change laws which continue to entrench statelessness. Liesl has two Masters’ degrees which focussed on Childhood Statelessness in South Africa; and Child’s rights approaches to strategic litigation in Africa.
Dr Tasanya
Dr Tasanya Nomaliso Chinsamy is the Medical Activity Manager at the Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Tshwane Project. The project focuses on vulnerable groups (such as the undocumented, the homeless, asylum seekers, refugees) and aims to achieve sustainable access to care, bear witness to the injustices faced and advocate for the rights of the vulnerable in accessing care. Tasanya has an MBBCh and an MSc Epidemiology/ Biostatistics in Implementation Science under the WHO TDR Programme. Her purpose is rooted in service to the vulnerable and she is deeply passionate about human rights and social justice.
For more information: Pearl Nicodemus | nicodemus@section27.or.za | 0822982636