Why total lockdown is a huge challenge for many of African cities?
Locking down entire cities and limiting movements of millions of people across the globe appears as one of the efficient strategies in efforts to limit the spread of the COVID-19. However, in the African context of informal economies, uncontrolled settlements, weak or inexistent health infrastructures as well as food insecurity, there is a huge challenge in [...]
Who decides the common good?
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” — John Philpot Curran (1750-1817), lawyer and statesman who championed Irish liberties. "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” — James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 [...]
Army, police may help stop the spread of Covid-19, but we must stay watchful of Big Brother
Like the fall of the Berlin wall or the stock market crash of 2008, the novel coronavirus, or Covid-19, is a pandemic that will likely have shattering and long-lasting consequences. This much is certain: the virus has devastated lives, disrupted markets and revealed to us the competence (or lack thereof) of governments around the world. Moreover, it [...]
South Africa’s lockdown may push Zimbabwe to the edge
As South Africa’s 21-day national lockdown comes into effect, the ramifications of this decision will be felt strongly across the Southern African region, most acutely by its northern neighbour, Zimbabwe. Although the unprecedented decision to lockdown Africa’s most advanced economy comes with serious consequences, it was largely welcomed as a necessary short-term move for the ultimate long-term [...]
We have to ramp up safeguards for the most vulnerable if we are to overcome pandemics like Covid-19
As South Africa braces itself for a lockdown due to the Covid-19 or coronavirus, President Cyril Ramaphosa assured South Africans that the country is prepared for the pandemic and that it has been for some time. Whilst the affluent retreat into the comfort of their homes, to self-isolate, work from home, and stock up on various [...]
Human Rights Day reminds us of our progress and failures
What do we mean when we think about human rights? In The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History, United States historian Samuel Moyn suggests that, “when people hear the phrase ‘human rights,’ they think of the highest moral precepts and political ideals” and the term brings to mind “a familiar set of indispensable liberal freedoms”. Human rights [...]
Trust in the time of Covid-19 – do we believe the state can handle the outbreak?
"The world is facing a medical emergency far graver than what we have experienced in over a century." These were the strong words that President Cyril Ramaphosa used in his address to the nation on Sunday evening to announce government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Much about the virus remains uncertain, but we know that it [...]
IJR COVID-19 PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES
In light of the severe impact of the COVID-19 virus and, in an effort to assist in reducing its spread, IJR staff will during the coming month, starting on the 18th of March, work remotely from their homes. A skeleton staff will during this period operate from the office in order to deal with urgent matters. [...]
The NHI could provide a dose of social justice for South Africa
The recent State of the Nation address gave President Cyril Ramaphosa the opportunity to confirm the vision of the rollout of National Health Insurance (NHI). Equity, access, rights and participation are core elements of social justice that are essential to health promotion. The NHI presents a prime opportunity to improve social justice across South Africa, but in its current [...]