Friday 13 November

Media Statements

SECTION27 PRESS ALERT: Al Jazeera English and State of Qatar accused of human rights abuses of people living with HIV

• Al Jazeera English and State of Qatar accused of violating rights of South African journalist living with HIV
• South African delegation to International Labour Organization (ILO) requested to file complaint against State of Qatar

On the eve of World AIDS Day 2011, SECTION27 invites you to a media conference that will provide details about how international TV news channel, Al Jazeera English, acted in concert with its owner, the State of Qatar, to violate the rights of a senior South African journalist.

Date: Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Time: 14h00
Venue: SECTION27, 6th floor, Braamfontein Centre, 23 Jorissen Street, Braamfontein

By Section27, ago

Auditor General Releases damning report

  In August 2011 the Auditor General released a report on its performance audit of the infrastructure delivery process in provincial departments of Health and Education. The audit was conducted at all provincial departments of Health and Education and their implementing agents such as the department of public works.The report Continue Reading

By Section27, ago

SECTION27 and TAC welcome Green Paper on National Health Insurance

SECTION27 and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) welcome the release of the Green Paper on National Health Insurance (NHI) for public comment. As organisations committed to the realisation of the right of everyone to have access to health care services, as guaranteed in section 27 of the Constitution, we value the opportunity to participate in what appears to be a clearly defined and well-considered policy development and implementation process that is to be accompanied and underpinned by legislative reform.

By Section27, ago

Civil Society Organisations Call for the State and Unions to Urgently Finalise the Minimum Service Level Agreement for the Health Sector

We are a range of organisations who campaign for the right to health, and/or who provide health care services to poor people who depend on the public health sector. We fully support the efforts of the government to improve health care services. We also support unions and their members who are at the front line of health care provision, and who justifiably try and draw attention to the difficult conditions in which most health care workers operate.

By Section27, ago

TAC and SECTION27 urge Parliament not to ratify WTO decision on Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health

Cabinet recently resolved to ask Parliament to take the necessary steps to enable South Africa to ratify a decision taken by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on intellectual property and access to medicines. At its meeting held on 16 March 2011, Cabinet decided to request Parliament to –

– ratify the WTO decision on the implementation of paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health; and
– deposit “an instrument of ratification … with the WTO.”

As organisations that are committed to ensuring universal access to essential medicines, as an integral part of the constitutional right to have access to health care services, TAC and SECTION27 call on Parliament not to ratify the decision. In this press statement we explain why we make this call.

By Section27, ago

SECTION27 to host regional activist dialogue on Right to Health

SECTION27 to host groundbreaking Southern African Regional Activist Dialogue on Strengthening Campaigns for the Right to Health and why we need a UN Framework Convention on the Right to Health.

This year a million people will die of HIV in Eastern and Southern Africa. Hundreds of thousands more will die of easily preventable diseases. Infant and maternal mortality remains intolerably high across the region. This situation demands an enhanced and urgent response to health, yet health systems are under enormous strain, many governments are lukewarm in their response to health and international donor assistance is flagging or going into reverse, particularly the commitment to fund universal access to HIV treatment.

By Section27, ago

Proposed EU economic partnership raises concerns about medicines access

After stalling for some time, negotiations for an economic partnership agreement (EPA) between the European Union (EU) on the one hand and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), Mozambique and Angola on the other have recently restarted. According to an article published in Business Day on 10 February 2011, Xavier Carim – Deputy Director-General for international trade at the Department of Trade and Industry – is reported to have indicated that the EPA “should strike a balance between the levels of market access, regional harmonisation of rules, customs co-operation and safety, enforcement of intellectual property laws, competition, investment and procurement.”

By Section27, ago

SECTION27, TAC and MSF South Africa call on the EU and India to stop the threats to people’s lives

The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), SECTION27 and Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) South Africa voice support for their partners across the world opposing provisions in a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) that threaten the sustainable supply of affordable medicines to millions of people in the developing world.

By Section27, ago

Insurance products for people living with HIV

Many people living with HIV continue to face unfair discrimination in various aspects of their lives. SECTION27 often receives reports from people who are denied access to insurance products solely on the basis that they are HIV positive, or are offered cover at what appear to be highly inflated prices.
SECTION27 recently met with representatives of the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) to raise concerns we have regarding the current approaches and practices of the insurance industry in relation to HIV.

By Section27, ago
WDA