Justice in Action for HIV and TB: Country Insights from South Africa and Ghana
- Karabo Makgato
On 10 June 2025, the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) co-hosted a powerful webinar with Ghana AIDS Council (GAC) titled “Justice in Action for HIV and TB: Country Insights from South Africa and Ghana,”. The webinar was in collaboration with the Global Fund’s Implementer Knowledge Exchange platform, UNAIDS and Global Partnership to Eliminate All Forms of Stigma. This engagement marked the second instalment of a two-part series dedicated to human rights within the HIV and TB response, building upon the success of the first session hosted by Ghana on 06 May 2025.
The webinar focused on the critical importance of integrating legal aid and access to justice into HIV and TB responses, as part of the broader global push to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of ending the epidemics by 2030. Key stakeholders from both Ghana and South Africa unpacked their experiences in breaking down human rights and gender-related barriers to healthcare services, efforts that are essential to ensuring that no one is left behind.
In her opening remarks, SANAC CEO Dr Thembisile Xulu welcomed participants from South Africa, Ghana and other parts of the globe, noting the momentum of the series and its importance in shaping a just and rights-based response to HIV and TB.
“The purpose of these Ghana–South Africa learning webinars,” Dr Xulu said, “is to create a platform for sharing good practices, successes, challenges, and strategies for scaling up quality implementation of HIV, TB, and human rights programmes.” She further emphasized the value of the series in contributing to an ongoing Community of Practice under initiatives like the Global Partnership for Action to Eliminate All Forms of HIV-Related Stigma and Discrimination and the Global Fund’s Breaking Down Barriers (BDB) initiative.
Key objectives of the webinar included:
- Sharing actionable lessons from both countries on operationalizing legal support mechanisms;
- Promoting South-South cooperation and innovation in human rights programming;
- Exploring the role of paralegal and legal support services in enhancing access to justice;
- Identifying future knowledge-sharing opportunities and support needs for implementers.
Leading the discussions were SANAC Technical Advisor for Human Rights & Community Systems Strengthening Mr. Pholo Ramothwala (South Africa) and WAPCAS Plus Senior Technical Advisor- Human Rights, Legal & Ethics, Ms. Gloria Gyesi-Addo (Ghana), who each presented their country’s frameworks for legal support within HIV and TB programmes. Their insights triggered lively, in-depth discussions among participants, highlighting the critical role of community-led legal interventions in improving health outcomes.
Speaking to his presentation during the webinar, Mr Ramothwala stressed that access to justice is central to addressing stigma, discrimination, and violence faced by key and priority populations in South Africa. He highlighted the role of the National Strategic Plan on HIV, TB and STIs in guiding a multisectoral, rights-based response that includes civil society, government, and development partners. The presentation outlined community-led monitoring and documentation of rights violations, the role of trained peer educators and community paralegals, and collaboration with lawyers and NGOs to ensure access to legal remedies.
Mr Ramothwala also stressed the importance of integrating legal literacy with service delivery to increase access to justice, sharing impactful case studies where advocacy and mediation led to restored access to healthcare for marginalised individuals. Despite resource and structural challenges, he noted that lessons learned from partnerships and district-level coordination have significantly improved human rights support and access to services.
While Dr Xulu had to depart early due to her participation in the G20 Health Working Group, she left participants with a call to action: “An Africa that safeguards the human rights of all its inhabitants is indeed possible, and it begins with you!”
This webinar series also serves as a precursor to the upcoming International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), to be held in Accra, Ghana, from 3–8 December 2025. The rich discussions and lessons drawn from these engagements will feed into broader continental dialogues and influence key decisions at ICASA and beyond.
As SANAC continues its commitment to human rights and equitable access to healthcare, platforms like this webinar reaffirm that justice is not just a principle, it is an actionable pathway to ending the HIV and TB epidemics.