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OP-ED | Poor infrastructure imperils KZN pupils’ right to education amid climate catastrophes
PUBLISHED BY: Daily Maverick WRITTEN BY: Benni Mudau South Africa faces an urgent obligation under international law to address the impacts of climate change on the right to education. In early 2025, from 16 to 28 February, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) experienced devastating floods, prompting the National Disaster Management Centre to declare Continue Reading
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OP-ED | Justice for Cwecwe: How child survivors should be protected
PUBLISHED BY: News24/City Press WRITTEN BY: Zeenat Sujee and Karabo Ozah On Friday, 28 March 2025, the public were justifiably up in arms on social media in response to a story published by Drum magazine, of the rape of 7-year-old Cwecwe at Bergview College in Matatiele, in the Eastern Cape. Continue Reading
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PRESS STATEMENT | SECTION27 Secures R38,000 Maintenance Order for a learner impregnated by educator
SECTION27 successfully represented a learner who was sexually assaulted by an educator, securing a future maintenance order at the Nkomazi Magistrates Court on 3 April 2025. The Court ordered the educator to pay R38,000 in maintenance over the next two years. The case began in 2022 when SECTION27 first consulted Continue Reading
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PRESS STATEMENT | SECTION27 and Cancer Alliance welcome Court judgment on the provision of lifesaving radiation oncology treatment for thousands of cancer patients
SECTION27 and Cancer Alliance, welcome the judgment handed down today by the Johannesburg High Court in the matter of Cancer Alliance v MEC for Health, Gauteng and 10 others, declaring the failure of the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) to provide lifesaving radiation oncology services to patients on the backlog Continue Reading
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PRESS STATEMENT | Limpopo Education Department must eradicate pit toilets by 31 March deadline
SECTION27 is closely monitoring whether the Limpopo Department of Education (LDoE) will meet its own 31 March 2025 deadline to eradicate and replace all pit toilets at so-called “Priority 1” schools in the province. The department missed their initial 31 March 2023 deadline to do so and has repeatedly extended Continue Reading
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OP-ED | Postponed Budget offers opportunity for rights-based fiscal reform
PUBLISHED BY: Daily Maverick WRITTEN BY: Mduduzi Nkosi and Matshidiso Lencoasa Civil society has consistently advocated for ways to expand public spending without deepening debt or burdening the poor. Now, the challenge is political will. In such a volatile economic climate, leaders must seize this moment to craft a Budget Continue Reading
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PRESS STATEMENT | A Budget That Gives With One Hand and Takes With the Other
Basic education and health see gains, but austerity still prevails. The 2025 Budget maintains real investment in basic education and health care, reflecting a welcome stated commitment to funding these constitutionally protected rights as priorities. While this is a necessary step toward strengthening essential services; it comes at a cost. Continue Reading
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OP-ED | Court victory for corporal punishment victims — why this ruling on sanctions against teachers is significant
PUBLISHED BY: Daily Maverick WRITTEN BY: Joy Hlatshwayo, Livhuwani Malelelo and Demichelle Petherbridge Rehabilitative sanctions imposed on two teachers goes some way to vindicating the applicants and their children, underscoring the importance of child participation in disciplinary processes and the need to ensure a holistic approach that prioritises the rights Continue Reading
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JOINT STATEMENT | Why are South African classrooms and children becoming fast food billboards?
As civil society organisations committed to food justice, children’s health and education rights, we are alarmed by the recent handover of McDonald’s-branded ‘Mi Desk’ desks to two Cape Town schools, facilitated by the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube. This follows similar corporate-branded desk donations from Old Mutual and Hollywood Continue Reading
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A Six-Year Old’s Struggle in Accessing Cancer Treatment in South Africa
By: Hloni Manare and Benni Mudau Any parent would be left powerless at the sight of their child suffering from an unexplained illness. Hassan Tesfaye* and his wife, Aida*, Ethiopian asylum seekers who have been living in Pretoria, South Africa, for 16 years, were all too familiar with this sense Continue Reading
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PRESS STATEMENT | Budget 2025 delay, an opportunity for a People’s Budget amid a cost of living crisis
As South Africa faces a cost of living crisis and a growing list of national priorities, we stand at a critical juncture where revenue generation strategies must prioritise equity and social justice. We, the Budget Justice Coalition (BJC), reaffirm our position that a VAT hike–particularly a 2% increase–is a regressive Continue Reading
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Budget 2025: The true state of the nation
PUBLISHED BY: WRITTEN BY: News24/City Press Matshidiso Lencoasa and Gauta Mashego The state of the nation address (SONA) attempted to paint a hopeful vision for South Africa, but promises alone will not build our nation. The upcoming budget speech is the true test of the commitment of the Government of Continue Reading
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JOINT STATEMENT | The African-led HIV Control Working Group response to abrupt cuts in HIV support
On 20 January 2025, the US President issued an Executive Order to pause all foreign aid funding for 90 days, which was immediately applied to the United States Government (USG) funded President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Launched in 2004, PEPFAR has been critical in global health efforts, saving Continue Reading
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JOINT STATEMENT | Upholding womxn’s rights to access abortifacients: Clarifying pharmacists’ role in reproductive healthcare
The South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC) has issued an e-Note confirming that pharmacists may not refuse to dispense abortifacients (a drug that induces abortion) due to personal beliefs or moral reasons. This e-Note comes after 13 NGOs and legal centres addressed an open letter to the SAPC and the National Continue Reading
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A Refugee’s Long Journey to Access Healthcare in South Africa
By: Samukelisiwe Msane Meet *Neema Ntumba, a 36-year-old refugee, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who has called Pretoria her home for a decade. As a refugee, Neema can access the same healthcare services as South African citizens as set out in the Constitution. However, the reality of accessing Continue Reading
