Peoples’ Health Movement Will Host A Public Meeting On Ebola

The People’s Health Movement South Africa is a global network bringing together grassroots health activists, civil society organizations and academic institutions from around the world, particularly from low and middle income countries.

The People’s Health Movement South Africa is hosting a Public Meeting on Ebola on 6 November 2014 in Cape Town.

Ebola is more than just another viral disease. The current epidemic in West Africa is a visible manifestation of a deep political, social, economic and ecological crisis.

For most of this year (2014), Ebola has dominated news about Africa. Both the mainstream and social media have disseminated information and knowledge as well as fear and misconceptions around the world. We have seen how weak health systems contribute to the spread of the disease not only in poor countries, but also in abundantly-resourced health systems in rich countries. We have seen deep fault lines open up in society. We have seen how deadly the concentration of power, complacency and ignorance among powerful elites in an unequal world can become.

Ebola should remind us of how out of balance our relationships have become with others and how ecological destruction in far-away places can have profound impacts everywhere.

The People’s Health Movement invites you to a public meeting where we will explore the roots, spread and the implications of the Ebola epidemic and the global response to it.

We will look at some of these issues in detail. There will be three speakers and an open discussion

1. Steve Reid, Director of the Primary Health Care Directorate at UCT will sketch out possible scenarios for Ebola in South Africa and our state of readiness.
2. Kerry Cullinan, Managing Editor for Health-e News Service will look at the media coverage of Ebola and its impact.
3. David Sanders, PHM member and emeritus professor at the School of Public Health, UWC will outline the political economy of the epidemic.

DATE:  6 November 2014

VENUE: AIDC Solidarity Centre, 129 Rochester Rd,  

Observatory, Cape Town.

TIME: 1730hrs till 2000hrs

Please contact Tinashe Njanji for any further details

Southafrica.phm@gmail.com Tel 021 447 5770