Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) supports the call for a National Shutdown protest

Johannesburg, 21 August 2022 – The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) joins Trade Union Federations, other progressive forces and the country at large in a national shutdown protest next Wednesday, 24 August 2022. We firmly stand with the working class and other civil society organisations that will be taking part in the mass action on the 24th. The continued austerity measures by the government and the ongoing harsh standards of living have necessitated this action.
We share the sentiments by SAFTU and its allies that: “The country is marching towards a precipice, and if the working class is not organised around a programme, and even an organ, it will be used by intra-factions of capitalism for their own end.”
“The struggle to ensure substantive equality for all is one that we are committed to as TAC. This includes the struggle to fix the broken health care system. This is the noble cause that we cannot betray. We call on all TAC members to support this call and engage in peaceful protest.” says TAC General Secretary Anele Yawa.
The struggle for the right to quality healthcare is at a critical juncture. We note that legal victories without strong accountability mechanisms rarely effect change. Dealing with clinics in crisis is a major priority of ours through the world’s largest community-led monitoring campaign. Using community-led monitoring data collected by TAC branches (from 250 branches) and Ritshidze project staff (from 400 health facilities) across eight of the country’s nine provinces, we have identified challenges that discourage people from going to the clinic and hospitals, contributing to the failure to reach the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets. These include but are not limited to: staff shortages; infrastructural issues; stockouts and shortages of medicines.
Details of the March:
Date: Wednesday 24 August 2022
Assembly point: Burgers Park, PTA march to Union Buildings Pretoria
Assembly time: 6:00AM
For media engagement, please contact:
Xabisa Qwabe (Communications Officer): 076 850 6736 or via email: xabisa.qwabe@mail.tac.org.za