Centenary of the UCT Faculty of Health Sciences
Health activism in Cape Town: A case study of the Health Workers Society
W Pick, J W B Claassen, C A le Grange, G D Hussey
Abstract
The Health Workers Society (HWS), founded in 1980, was one of several progressive health organisations that fought for a democratic health system in South Africa. We document the sociopolitical context within which it operated and some of its achievements. HWS, many of whose members were staff and students of the University of Cape Town (UCT), provided a forum for debate on health-related issues, politics and society, and worked closely with other organisations to oppose the apartheid state’s health policies and practices. They assisted with the formation of the first dedicated trade union for all healthcare workers and were one of the first to pioneer the primary healthcare approach in an informal settlement in Cape Town.
Authors' affiliations
W Pick, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town
J W B Claassen, Metro District Health Service, Provincial Government, Western Cape
C A le Grange, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town
G D Hussey, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, and Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town
Keywords
Activism, policy, community health worker, politics, unions, health workers
Cite this article
South African Medical Journal 2012;102(6):403-305.
Article History
Date submitted: 2012-01-13
Date published: 2012-03-02
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