Ethics Alive 2011 promises exciting line-up on bioethical issues

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This annual four-day event consists of debates and discussions exploring issues according to themes revolving around healthcare such as ethics, law and human rights. The 2011 week will run from 22-25 March.

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

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 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.

The highlight of the week will be a symposium on Wednesday, 23 March 2011 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.

The week's activities