-
PRESS STATEMENT | Civil society organisations welcome High Court ruling affirming the right to safe and unhindered access to healthcare
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (KAAX) – represented by SECTION27, welcome the judgment handed down today by the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, which orders the state to take immediate and decisive action to end the obstruction of access to public healthcare facilities in Gauteng. In this…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | Organisations call for action against unauthorised obstruction of healthcare facilities
Civil society organisations advocating for equitable access to healthcare in public facilities have launched an application at the South Gauteng High Court seeking immediate intervention to end the obstruction that has left vulnerable patients unable to access essential medical services. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), and Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (KAAX) –…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | A Public Service That Builds a Nation Needs Investment, Not Cuts
SECTION27 notes the tabling of the 2025 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) at a time when the consequences of prolonged austerity are visible across schools, clinics and households. This year’s mini-budget offered little in the way of a meaningful shift away from the status quo that has hollowed out essential services and undermined constitutional rights…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | Predators in Our Schools: Teddy Bear Foundation takes DBE and others to Court for Ignoring the National Child Protection Register
SECTION27, representing the Teddy Bear Foundation (TBF), has approached the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria seeking an order against the Departments of Social Development (DSD), Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD) Basic Education (DBE), provincial education departments (PEDs), South African Council of Educators (SACE), and Educators Labour Relations Council (ELRC) to discharge their constitutional and legislative obligations…
-
JOINT STATEMENT | No rights without choice: Access to Safe Abortion is Reproductive Justice!
Ibis Reproductive Health, in partnership with SECTION27, Soul City Institute, MB Teen Lifestyle, Accountability International, Ipas Africa Southern Region and Tiko, will commemorate International Safe Abortion Day (ISAD) with an Imbizo on 29 September 2025 from 10:00 to 14:00 at The Forge in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. This year’s global theme – “Safe Abortion is Life-saving Healthcare!”…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | TAC and SECTION27 call on UN Secretary General to save UNAIDS
24 September 2025, Johannesburg – The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and SECTION27 strongly oppose imminent plans to shut down UNAIDS, as announced by the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres. Actively dismantling the only dedicated UN body coordinating the HIV response will have a devastating impact on the lives of millions of people living with…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | Gauteng Health claims cancer matter is not urgent in new appeal; Cancer Alliance to oppose
9 September 2025, Johannesburg – SECTION27, representing Cancer Alliance, notes with disappointment the Gauteng Department of Health’s (GDoH) appeal to the recent judgment by the Gauteng High Court, in the case for radiation oncology treatment. Cancer Alliance intends to oppose this appeal and views it as yet another attempt by GDoH to delay providing treatment to…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | SECTION27’s clients – TAC and Sonke Gender Justice – admitted as amici in landmark case for sex workers in South Africa
3 September 2025, Johannesburg – SECTION27, representing the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), and Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke), welcome the Western Cape High Court ruling to admit the organisations as amici curiae (friends of the court). The main application, brought by S.H and Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), against the Minister of Justice and Correctional…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | SECTION27 and the Cancer Alliance welcome the Gauteng High Court’s Urgent ruling to protect cancer patients’ right to healthcare
20 August 2025, Johannesburg – SECTION27, and the Cancer Alliance, welcome the urgent judgment of the Gauteng High Court handed down today by Judge Dippenaar in the matter of Cancer Alliance v MEC for Health, Gauteng and 10 Others. The Cancer Alliance, represented by SECTION27, approached the South Gauteng High Court on an urgent basis…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | Life Esidimeni Families on the NPA’s Ongoing Delay in Prosecution Decision
19 August 2025, Johannesburg – SECTION27 welcomes an indication from the NPA, in a meeting yesterday with families, that they are moving towards a decision on prosecution in the Life Esidimeni matter. We are, however, concerned with the extensive delays by the NPA, even in the face of the inquest decision and a legal opinion that…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | SECTION27 welcomes new Board chair
12 August 2025, Johannesburg – SECTION27 welcomes the appointment of Nyeleti Magadze as Chair of the SECTION27 Board, effective 1 August 2025. This appointment follows the retirement of Alice Brown, who served on the SECTION27 Board for 13 years, including six years as Chair. Nyeleti joined the SECTION27 Board in 2023 and has extensive experience…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | Gauteng High Court orders water reconnection to building housing twenty-three NGOs
16 July 2025, Johannesburg – SECTION27, representing the Children’s Memorial Institute (CMI), reached a settlement with Johannesburg Water and the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (the City) to reconnect the water supply to the property situated at 13 Joubert Street, Parktown. CMI is occupied by 23 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating on the property. These NGOs…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | Life Esidimeni one year on – justice delayed is justice denied
10 July 2025, Johannesburg – 10 July 2025 marks exactly one year since Judge Mmonoa Teffo handed down the Life Esidimeni Inquest judgment. The inquest found that the conduct of Ms Qedani Mahlangu (the former Gauteng Health MEC) and Dr. Makgabo Manamela (the former Director of Mental Health in Gauteng) on the face of it…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | Life Esidimeni families and allies, call on NPA to pursue criminal charges ahead of Mental Health Boards meeting
27 May 2025, Johannesburg – On 28 and 29 May 2025, the National Department of Health will convene a national Mental Health Review Boards Meeting to discuss Human Rights in Mental Health, roles and functions of Mental Health Review Boards, optimal functioning and key procedures. This meeting takes place over 6 months after the Life Esidimeni…
-
PRESS STATEMENT | Budget 3.0: From Budget Line to Frontline – Building a Nation Starts in Classrooms and Clinics
21 May 2025, Johannesburg – Budget 3.0, the first presented under the Government of National Unity (GNU), marks a significant shift from years of harsh austerity. While not without gaps, this budget reflects pressure from communities and civil society to put the people of South Africa at the centre of South Africa’s budget priorities. After…
