Human rights and the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective and prospective analysis.

When the history of the COVID-19 pandemic is written, the failure of many states to live up to their human rights obligations should be a central narrative. The pandemic began with Wuhan officials in China suppressing information, silencing whistleblowers, and violating the freedom of expression and the right to health. Since then, COVID-19's effects have been profoundly unequal, both nationally and globally.

Evolving capacity of children and their best interests in the context of health research in South Africa: An ethico-legal position.

The existing ethico-legal regulation of adolescent children's participation in health research in South Africa is currently unclear. The article interrogates the existing framework governing children's consent to research participation, with specific emphasis on discrepancies in consent norms in law and ethical guidelines. Against the backdrop of the constitutional directive that requires that a child's best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child, the article assesses whether sufficient consideration is given to children's evolving maturity and capacities when consent to their participation in health research is sought.

Ethically acceptable consent approaches to adolescent research in South Africa.

Background: Adolescents are a unique population with significant unmet health needs. They are often excluded from research that may benefit them as they are perceived as vulnerable and needing protection from research participation. For Research Ethics Committees, conflicting positions in statutes, regulations and ethical guidelines about who provides informed consent for adolescent involvement in health research can be a significant barrier to approving adolescent research.

Increasing medical student numbers in resource constrained settings: Ethical and legal complexities intersecting patients' rights and responsibilities.

There is a need to increase the number of practicing medical doctors in South Africa. We examine the ethical implications of patients' rights being affected in medical education in a South African context. The South African legal framework advocates public healthcare access.

Pandemics, professionalism and the duty of care: Concerns from the coalface.

It is likely that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic will affect a large part of the world's population and will last for several years. Many critical ethical issues have arisen in the healthcare context. While response from healthcare professionals to participating in the care of patients in the era of COVID-19 has generally been positive, there have also been disturbing experiences on the ground.

Public engagement in the development of the National Health Insurance: a study involving patients from a central hospital in South Africa.

Background: The National Health Insurance (NHI) is a proposed health policy in South Africa that aims to change the structure of the current health system. Public involvement in policy making is important and it is a constitutional requirement in the legislation development process in South Africa. Patients are key stakeholders and should be engaged in NHI policy process.

Perceptions of patients and medical students towards each other in the setting of patient care-a South African perspective.

Introduction: South Africa urgently needs more doctors. We examined perceptions of patients and students to provide evidence for optimum student-patient ratios and substantiate solutions for this dilemma.

Methods: We interviewed 118 patients and invited 120 students to complete a self-administered questionnaire from four specialities in an academic hospital in Johannesburg.

Global injustice in sport: The Caster Semenya ordeal - prejudice, discrimination and racial bias.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) requires the blood testosterone level of female athletes with differences of sex development to be reduced to below 5 nmol/L for a continuous period of at least 6 months, and thereafter to be maintained to below 5 nmol/L continuously for as long as the athlete wishes to remain eligible. Its ruling is based on questionable research findings. Medical decisions and interventions should be based on evidence from well-designed and well-conducted research and confirmatory studies.

Protecting participants in health research: The South African Material Transfer Agreement.

The need to transfer human biological materials (HBMs) across national boundaries has become increasingly important in view of increased biobank and commercial activities globally. In light of South Africa (SA)'s history of colonisation and racial discrimination, coupled with well-known instances of exploitation of research participants in the developing world, it is critical that the management of HBMs from and to other jurisdictions is explored and regulated. Material transfer agreements (MTAs) represent an important point of departure in such a process.

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) strikes: South Africa's healthcare battlefield.

The right to strike is a fundamental right entrenched in section 23 of the Bill of Rights. Strikes are an almost everyday occurrence in South Africa and strikes in healthcare facilities raise difficult and complex moral and ethical questions. The right to strike is conditionally limited by section 36 of the Constitution and for workers engaging in essential services it is further limited under section 65 of the Labour Relations Act.

The Life Esidimeni tragedy: Moral pathology and an ethical crisis.

The Life Esidimeni tragedy highlights several ethical transgressions. Health professionals' ethics are put to the test when their own interests are balanced against competing claims. Core values of compassion, competence and autonomy, together with respect for fundamental human rights, serve as the foundation of ethical practice in healthcare.

The evolution of research participant protections in South Africa.

South Africa (SA) has played a leading role in health research internationally. Ethical guidelines for the protection of research participants have been published by the Medical Research Council (MRC) as early as 1979. Ironically, the guidelines gave substantial prominence to the oppressive laws of the time.

Exploitation of the vulnerable in research: Responses to lessons learnt in history.

The Nuremberg Trials raised insightful issues on how and why doctors who were trained in the Hippocratic tradition were able to commit such egregious and heinous medical crimes. The vulnerable were considered to be subhuman, of decreased intelligence, of no moral status and lacking human dignity. The reputation of the medical profession had been undermined, professionalism questioned and the doctor-patient relationship damaged as a result of the Nazi medical experiments.

Health research and safeguards: The South African journey.

Health research, as a social good, needs to be conducted in the interests of the common good. Because of the unfortunate exploitation of research participants globally, safeguards for protections are necessary. Most international codes and guidelines originated as responses to the abuse and mistreatment of research subjects.