Treatment Action Campaign - Campaigning for the rights of people with HIV/AIDS!

ALP and TAC condemn attacks on Heywood by Mseleku and Mametja

moderator — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:54:45 +0200

The AIDS Law Project (ALP) and Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) condemn the attacks on Mark Heywood by the Department of Health Director General, Thami Mseleku and the national DOH TB cluster manager, David Mametja.

Mseleku, speaking from the floor after a plenary presentation by Heywood, made a personal attack on the presentation, claiming that Heywood had merely swapped his slides from HIV to TB, and that ‘human rights were not relevant to considerations of health policy in a developmental state’.

Mametja, in the closing session of the conference abused his position as co-chair of the conference track on Patient and Civil Society. Instead of reporting on the outcomes of that track he focused solely on attacking Heywood’s presentation of the day before. This was contemptuous of all the people who presented and participated in the track that he co-chaired.

Preventing, Diagnosing and Treating TB: A human rights approach

moderator — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:51:35 +0200

Key papers on TB

Prevention, Early Diagnosis, Treatment and Cure of Tuberculosis: A Guide and Recommendations for TAC, Government and Civil Society - TAC position paper Presented by Lesley Odendal at South African TB Conference, 3 July 2008
Isoniazid Preventive Therapy in the context of HIV: An intervention that can save lives - TAC Position Paper on IPT
read more

Kwazulu-Natal Health MEC continues witch-hunt of doctors and breaks National Health Act

moderator — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:39:38 +0200

Nkonyeni continues witch-hunt against Mark Blaylock and Colin Pfaff
National Health Act has been breached because Nkonyeni, her officials and the Kwazulu-Natal Treasury have:
- Publicised private details of Dr Mark Blaylock's medical history.
- Handed over original confidential patient records to a private company.
Nkonyeni fails to honour agreement with civil society to resolve conflict.

Kwazulu-Natal Province (KZN) is the epicentre of the South African HIV epidemic. Nearly 40% of pregnant women attending public health facilities in the province are HIV-positive. 16.5% of people over the age of two are infected (South African National HIV Survey, 2005). More than any other province it needs good political leadership on AIDS. But instead the province's MEC for Health, Peggy Nkonyeni, entertains AIDS denialism and is destroying health-care in the province.

TAC pickets outside UNHCR in Pretoria

moderator — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:30:12 +0200

On 2 July, TAC organised a picket outside of the United Nations building in Pretoria to demand a response to a memorandum handed over to the UNHCR by Gauteng civil society on 20 June 2008. The event was attended by 600 people, all of whom called on the UNHCR to intervene in the humanitarian crisis now facing South Africa.

The community leader from the refugee camp in Acasia highlighted of the plight of foreign nationals living in the camp. He spoke of the poor conditions in the camp and told people about the hunger strike they are currently on to protest being given outdated food - and even expired infant formula, dated 2003.

TAC's Secretary General Vuyiseka Dubula also spoke about civil society's frustration over the lack of response from the UNHCR after 12 days and the belief that the UNHCR is not interested in addressing the matters raised in the memorandum.

A representative of the UNHCR promised to address the memorandum promptly and admitted that he and his peers and seniors had not discussed the matter yet.

New Medicines Bill will Undermine the Scientific Governance of Medicine

moderator — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:31:29 +0200

The Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Bill, 2008 was formally introduced to Parliament on 17 June 2008. Parliament has called for submissions by 18 July. It will hold public hearings on 5 to 6 August. The Bill is disastrous. It will undermine the scientific governance of medicine and potentially reverse the gains of the recent court victory by TAC and the South African Medical Association in their case against Matthias Rath, the Minister of Health and others.

Here is a letter written to the Head of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health by TAC and the AIDS Law Project (ALP) indicating our intention to make an oral submission to Parliament on the bill and raising our broad concerns with the bill.

Support the people of Zimbabwe and fight xenophobia

moderator — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:07:00 +0200

The Social Justice Coalition made up of the diverse people of South Africa held a meeting on Wednesday 25 June 2007 to demonstrate their solidarity with victims of rights abuses in Zimbabwe and those of xenophobic attacks.

Report on panel discussion on violence, xenophobia and camps in Gauteng and Western Cape

moderator — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:50:07 +0200

A panel discussion was held on Tuesday 24 June at the AIDS Law Project offices in Cape Town. The subject of the discussion was “Taking Stock: Violence, xenophobia and camps: Where to from here?”

Panellists included Sharon Ekambaram, General Director of Médecins Sans Frontières South Africa based in Johannesburg, Mohammad Hirsi, refugee representative, Zackie Achmat of the TAC and Fatima Hassan, senior attorney with the AIDS Law Project.

Discussed:

TAC members and displaced people protest outside Western Cape Provincial Government Building

moderator — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:25:37 +0200

About 400 people including TAC members and displaced refugees delivered the following memorandum to the Western Cape Provincial Government today:

Joint Civil Society memorandum to the Western Cape Provincial Government (PGWC)

Immediately following the xenophobic attacks in the Western Cape in May 2008, thousands of displaced foreign nationals sought shelter and safety in more than 85 sites across Cape Town. Some were cared for by faith-based organizations, and community organisations, others were provided basic food and shelter by NGOs. Thousands more were forced by their dire circumstances into the bigger refugee camps.

The City of Cape Town, under the leadership of the Democratic Alliance, insisted that these camps were the best way of managing the humanitarian disaster, refusing to open community halls and centres in the southern suburbs, central business district and Atlantic seaboard, i.e. historically white areas. We condemn this racist and xenophobic response by Mayor Helen Zille. We condemn her spate of callous comments about refugees and immigrants and other displaced people. We further condemn her inefficient management of the refugee camps that she has established and the continuing undignified conditions at these camps.

TAC marches against gender-based violence in uMgungundlovu

moderator — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:22:08 +0200

In response to the recent rape of the six year old daughter of a TAC member in Elandskop, KwaZulu-Natal TAC uMgungundlovu (Pietermaritzburg) marched through Elandskop last week demanding an end to gender-based violence (GBV), sexual assault and rape in the community and asking for improvements in the local criminal justice system. Out of the eight rapes reported in Elandskop this year only one has ended in a conviction.

Public Launch of the Social Justice Coalition

moderator — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:31:52 +0200

As a response to the recent attacks on foreign nationals in Western Cape, individuals from all walks of life have been mobilised in providing humanitarian relief. Lack of faith in the government, city, big business and even civil society has led us to respond individually and voluntarily.

The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) is an independent group that believes in freedom, equality, non-violence and a human rights framework that respects among others, the right of every person to life, dignity, and access to health care.