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The day, about two years ago, when it dawned on me that sex work is work, a whole new world opened up to me

For one, I started to realise how pointless it is to criminalise sex work — study after study has shown that making the trade illegal doesn’t have any effect on the number of sex workers in a country. All it does is to drive the trade underground. 

In South Africa sex work is, of course, still illegal

The law has had dire consequences for workers and their clients. It is at least partly responsible for the extremely high HIV infection rates — in Johannesburg 71.8% of workers have tested positive — among the country’s 138 000 female sex workers.  

Why? Because workers are scared they’d get arrested when accessing health services. 

But the government’s Esselen clinic in Hillbrow, Johannesburg does things differently. It’s a safe space for workers, where nurses work with pimps, police and sex workers so they get the healthcare they deserve. 

In this 10 minute podcast, we take you into the world of brothels and inside a unique clinic that doesn't discriminate. 

It’s worth every minute.  

Enjoy the ride, 

Mia Malan 
Bhekisisa editor-in-chief 

@MiaMalan
The Netherlands, Amsterdam, 21-7-2018. Foxxy is a sex worker who spends part of her time on informing the public about her work. She works in the city's red light district. This picture was taken during a media tour at the 2018 International Aids Conference. Photo: Rob Huibers for IAS. 
South Africa boasts the world's largest HIV treatment programme, but it also criminalises one of the groups most likely to contract the virus — sex workers. 

So how do workers access healthcare in a country where their jobs are illegal? 

Paul McNally takes a look at a Hillbrow clinic that makes care for sex workers safe and stigma-free.

Listen to the podcast
Find out how pimps, police and pills collide to get healthcare to sex workers via @Bhekisisa_MG. #SexWorkIsWork #HIV #PrEP http://bit.ly/2rXEWBP Find out how pimps, police and pills collide to get healthcare to sex workers via @Bhekisisa_MG. #SexWorkIsWork #HIV #PrEP http://bit.ly/2rXEWBP

The National Health Insurance is one of the first steps towards Universal Health Coverage.

But, can South Africa pull it off?

Find out what policymakers, researchers and health scientists think need to be done ahead of the implementation of the NHI at the National Department of Health and the South African Medical Research Council's two-day Universal Health Coverage National Dialogue

Watch our Day 1 livestream.

[WATCH LIVE] Couldn't make @Health_ZA & @MRCza's Universal Health Coverage National Dialogue? We've got you covered: http://bit.ly/2O1Rpx4 [WATCH LIVE] Couldn't make @Health_ZA & @MRCza's Universal Health Coverage National Dialogue? We've got you covered: http://bit.ly/2O1Rpx4
Therapy dogs from Top Dogs are dressed up as role players in the Krugersdorp Magistrates Court to showcase how court proceedings work to children that have to testify in court. In this photograph Napoleon is dressed up as the Witness.
We've written about them and we've shot a video with them.

This week, we're podcasting about the cutesy canines that play court with child sexual assault survivors, to prepare them to take the stand against their attackers.

Dhashen Moodley visits the Teddy Bear Foundation to see how its furry staff help children feel at home in a place scary even for adults.

Listen to the podcast
[WATCH LIVE] Couldn't make @Health_ZA & @MRCza's Universal Health Coverage National Dialogue? We've got you covered: http://bit.ly/2O1Rpx4 [WATCH LIVE] Couldn't make @Health_ZA & @MRCza's Universal Health Coverage National Dialogue? We've got you covered: http://bit.ly/2O1Rpx4
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Have 5 minutes? Take our short NHI survey.

Help us gauge public participation around the National Health Insurance, freely and anonymously.

If you’d like to add your voice, take five minutes to complete our 12-question survey. The survey also allows civil society members to upload their submissions to the NHI and whether or not they would like these to be made public.

While the survey is anonymous, we plan to analyse and publish the overall results on our website, bhekisisa.org and make the anonymous dataset available publically. Submissions marked for public consumption will be made available on our website as well as via nhilibrary.com. The centre would like to thank our civil society reviewers who helped us draft and refine the survey questions

So add your voice to the more than 100 members of civil society and the public who have chimed in with suggestions about how to make the road to an NHI a little better!

The deadline for input is 1 December
Click here to complete the survey
Help @Bhekisisa_MG gauge the quality of public participation around the National Health Insurance #NHI. Complete the five-minute survey here: http://bit.ly/NHIsurvey Help @Bhekisisa_MG gauge the quality of public participation around the National Health Insurance #NHI. Complete the five-minute survey here: http://bit.ly/NHIsurvey
Welcome our new subscribers. Welcome to quality health journalism.

Londiwe Nzimande of Broadreach
Rosemary Viljoen of the SRHR Africa Trust
Themba Sibanyoni of the Gauteng Department of Health
Paula Tuomakelina from the United Kingdom


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Opportunities from around the web:



Call for proposals, WHO: Small grants for innovative uses of GIS in polio eradication

The WHO's polio eradication programme in the organisation's regional Africa office is seeking applications for research grants ranging from US$8 000 to US$12 000 to fund projects on the innovative use of geographic information systems (GIS) and other technologies for polio eradication and other public health uses.

Interested researchers and innovators are encouraged to submit a proposal related to the use of innovative technologies for areas including surveillance, outbreak response and supplemental immunisation. Innovations proposed can include, for instance, GIS, remote sensing, drones or artificial intelligence. 

Find more out



Global Health Supply Chain Summit — Johannesburg, 20 to 22 November 

The 12th Global Health Supply Chain Summit will focus on maximising global health supply chain impact through data and analytics, entrepreneurship and accessibility. As in the previous conferences, the summit will assemble an impressive group of practitioners and experts from the global health supply chain field including academics, country planners, NGOs, logistics practitioners, pharmaceutical industry, and donor representatives. English and French translation will be provided.

Find out more 



Evaluation consultant, Partnership to Inspire, Transform, and Connect the HIV response, Aidsfonds and Frontline AIDS 

The Partnership to Inspire, Transform, and Connect the HIV response (Pitch) is a five-year global advocacy programme operating in nine countries (Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Ukraine, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe), two regions (Southern Africa and Eastern Europe & Central Asia), and at the global policy level. 

Aidsfonds and Frontline AIDS are seeking proposals from individuals, groups or companies with experience conducting reviews and evaluations of human rights and HIV/Aids programmes to evaluate the project. Applicants should have demonstrated knowledge and understanding of advocacy for human rights programming in the context of HIV/Aids and experience of using the Outcome Harvesting, and Stories of Change approaches in an advocacy context. Frontline AIDS will directly contract consultants.

Deadline: 5 December 12pm GMT
Find out more



Webinar, Public funding of biomedical R&D: The role for public investment funds and financial markets — 28 November 

The role of public funding in biomedical research and development (R&D) is a longstanding topic of interest both in academic literature and in policy debates. Debate has often focused on the public funding of R&D through direct grants, tax incentives and the purchase of the end product by public health systems. This webinar aims to bring a new element to the debate: the role of public investment funds. The webinar will take place at 4pm to 5pm Central European Time and will be available as a recording later. 

Find out more



Call for entries, health documentaries, the World Health Organisation (WHO)

The WHO Health for All Film Festival invites independent film-makers, production companies, NGOs, communities, students, and film schools from around the world to submit their original short films on health. The Film Festival aims to recruit a new generation of film and video innovators to champion and promote global health issues. Films are a powerful way to raise awareness, improve understanding and encourage action. 

The submissions can be on any health issue, including the social and environmental determinants of health for the first two categories (non-fiction and animation). The third category focuses on nurses or midwives to pay tribute to the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife in 2020. Only films completed between 1 January 2017 and 30 January 2020 are eligible for the festival, which will take place in May 2020.

Deadline: 30 January 2020
Find out more




Lecture, 'Climate, hay fever, murder and honey: What pollen can tell about the past, present and future' — University of the Witwatersrand Origins Centre, 21 November, 6pm

Palynology is the analysis of pollen, spores and a multitude of other organic-walled microfossils. The method was first invented to correlate coal seams by looking at changes within the pollen and spore assemblages. Today, many other applications exist from reconstructing what the world looked like for the dinosaurs to tracking pollen levels for allergy sufferers. The field can also be used to track down illicit honey and ... maybe even crack unsolved murder cases. Find out how via the university's Frank Neumann. 

Tickets: Adults R65.00, Students R35.00, Preferential R50.00. You can book your seat on webtickets (from 15 November); tickets also available at the door. For more information, email bookings.origins@wits.ac.za or call 011 717 4700. 




Call for registration, International AIDS Conference — San Francisco and Oakland

Registration has been opened for the 23rd International AIDS Conference which will take place from 6 to 10 July 2020.

Next year's Aids Conference will mark the first time the world's largest conference on HIV and AIDS will be hosted in two neighbouring cities.

Conference registration has opened two months early to allow delegates more time to apply for visas.

Early registration ends on 15 January 2020. Group registration only applies to five or more people and the organisation requesting a group registration must nominate one group representative who will administer the group booking.

Media registration is free for eligible members of the media who will be attending in their capacity as journalists, photographers, videographers and community educators.

For more information about visa applications, click here.
To register, click here.



Call for public comment, National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill — deadline extended

The Portfolio Committee on Health invites stakeholders and interested parties to submit written submissions on the NHI Bill now before 29 November.

The objective of the Bill is to achieve universal access to quality healthcare services in South Africa as per Section 27 of the Constitution. 

As part of this, the Bill sets up the creation of an NHI Fund and outlines its powers, functions and governance structures. The Fund will be used to strategically purchase healthcare services on behalf of citizens and certain categories of foreign nationals to ensure the equitable, effective and efficient utilisation of its resources.

Deadline: 29 November
Click here to submit your comment
For any inquiries email Vuyokazi Majalamba or call her on 021 403 3770 or 083 709 8522

PS ICYMI: Our recent story about the quality of public participation made some major waves. Now, we've created a survey to help put some numbers behind the narratives.

Take a couple of minutes to take our 12-question survey and help us gauge the level of public participation around the process and possible ways to improve it.

While the survey is anonymous, we'll publish the results on our website, bhekisisa.org at the end of the submission period. They will also be made available on nhilibrary.com. We will not include submissions marked as private in the results.



Call for female experts in any field, Quote This Woman+ 

Quote This Woman+ is a project to establish an online database of women and non-binary experts to improve gender representation in sourcing among the media. During the election season alone, Quote This Woman+ fielded more than 500 calls from journalists wanting to increase the voices of women in the media.

Keen to be quoted? Submit your details to kathy@augury.co.za

Deadline: N/A
Find out more

Have something to say or an opportunity to share? Let us know. Email tip-offs, comments or story and opinion suggestions to health@bhekisisa.org. 

Follow us on TwitterFacebook or Instagram for daily updates.
 
The Bhekisisa Team
Copyright © 2019 Bhekisisa Development Media NPC. All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism, Metal Box
25 Owl Street, 4th Floor, Braamfontein Werf, 2092, Johannesburg, South Africa

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