Ethics Alive 2011 - Justice in Healthcare

As a cornerstone value of democratic South Africa, justice is a topic which demands ever-more discussion and debate. In healthcare, equal access to, and fair distribution of, resources is a continuous challenge. This challenge is epitomised at present by ongoing debate around the proposed National Health Insurance - which makes the Ethics Alive week of debating justice issues pivotal in the pursuit of meeting the health-related needs of the nation.

Guest speakers include internationally acclaimed scholar Professor Lawrence Gostin, the Linda D. and Timothy J. O'Neill Professor of Global Health Law at the Georgetown University Law Centre, where he directs the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. He chairs a World Health Organisation project on the law and ethics of public health strategies for pandemic influenza and is leading a drafting team on developing a Model Public Health Law for the World Health Organisation.

Expert opinion

Expert opinion will also be heard from Mark Heywood, executive director of Section 27 (previously the AIDS Law Project), who has been instrumental in HIV litigation and promoting access to healthcare in South Africa. Professor Judith Bruce, head of the School of Therapeutic Sciences in the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences will also be contributing. She has been at the University since 1993 where she has made a significant contribution to nursing education and issues of justice in the health sciences.

"Ethics Alive 2011 is being held at a crucial time in the history of healthcare in South Africa. The symposium will address pertinent issues that are currently unfolding in healthcare practise. Moreover the activities fall shortly after Human Rights Day - hence the appropriateness of timing for the reflection, discussion and debate during the week," said Prof. Ames Dhai, director of the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics.

Topics

Topics during the four-day discourse will address questions relating to justice in health care, such as: How can healthcare professionals maintain high standards of professionalism in a dysfunctional health system?, How can we promote equity in access to healthcare? and How can we meet the basic survival needs of the world's poorest people?

The highlight of the week will be a symposium on Wednesday, 23 March during which the speakers will address these issues and engage in conversation about present inequalities and plans to remedy these, such as the proposed National Health Insurance.

Programme details are available here.