Health
HRC: Cape Town’s chemical toilets violate human rights
The Human Rights Commission (HRC) has found that the City of Cape Town's roll out of chemical toilets unfairly discriminates against “black African” people, and violates the rights to basic sanitation and dignity of informal settlement residents.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 16 July 2014
Teachers, students and parents demand toilets and libraries for schools
“Our school has four pit-toilets, two for the boys and two for the girls”, Yonela Jumba says. “These toilets are also used by the teachers.”
Koketso Moeti
News | 16 July 2014
Death with dignity not only a debate for developed countries
Desmond Tutu's support for assisted dying made headlines across the world this week, and brought the debate into the mainstream in South Africa.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 15 July 2014
The Week in Political Activism
This week we report arrests at a health demonstration in the Free State, the African Union’s recent move to immunise leaders from war crime prosecution, and an upcoming school infrastructure reform conference.
Michelle Korte
News | 10 July 2014
Open letter to the Social Justice Coalition
Counsellor Ernest Sonnenberg has written an open letter to Phumeza Mlungwana, General Secretary of the Social Justice Coalition (SJC). This follows the report published by GroundUp on the SJC's toilet mapping initiative.
Ernest Sonnenberg
Opinion | 10 July 2014
“I love what I do, but there are many problems as well.” - a community health worker’s story
A Delft South community health worker (CHW) had no choice, but to take two weeks unpaid leave after sustaining a serious back injury while bathing a patient earlier this year.
Barbara Maregele
News | 9 July 2014
Activists call for fair employment conditions for community health workers
Community health workers (CHWs) are an essential link between communities and the often confusing health-care system. There are about 70,000 of them countrywide. They do a myriad tasks: visiting and assisting frail people at their homes, educating people about HIV and TB, and much more. But their conditions of employment are beset with problems.
Barbara Maregele
News | 9 July 2014
Project to map Khayelitsha’s toilets could improve sanitation
Two organisations have teamed up to map public flush toilet locations in Khayelitsha. They will launch an interactive website and phone-based reporting system to improve efficiency in toilet maintenance.
Michelle Korte
News | 8 July 2014
The week in political activism
This week we cover the availability of generic drug-resistant tuberculosis medication in Khayelitsha, a worldwide anti-corruption campaign taken up by Corruption Watch, a parents’ camp hosted by Equal Education, and an upcoming school infrastructure reform conference.
Michelle Korte
News | 3 July 2014