South Africa: ‘Health officials prohibited from speaking to media about HIV and AIDS’

Tag as ‘astonishing things’. I shake my head.

Health officials prohibited from speaking to media about HIV and AIDS
 

Source: Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI)
Type(s) of violation(s): censored
Urgency: Threat

 
(FXI/IFEX) – The following is an FXI press statement:

 
FXI and ODAC condemn gag on health officials

 
The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) and Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC) are deeply disturbed by reports of an instruction given by Health Department Director-General Thami Mseleku to stop provincial health officials commenting on HIV and AIDS. We believe that the instruction is an unreasonable limitation on the officials’ right to freedom of expression and thus unconstitutional.

 
The AIDS pandemic in South Africa has reached such critical proportions that it demands extensive public discussion and debate. However, rather than engaging with the general public and its detractors in an open process of learning and consensus-building, the Health Department has seen fit to attempt to stifle this process by gagging its own employees from speaking to the media…

More here.

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