I first met Nomkhitha Gysman during a gender-focused Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting in 2017. Nomkhitha served as the SADC expert and focal point for gender in our region and during the pandemic (around 2020) had invited me to an incubation meeting for the Foundation she envisioned to tackle ukuthwala (forced child marriages), a […]
A couple of years ago, as the outside world looked on, they thought I had landed my dream job. I had been earning more than I anticipated and a lot sooner. Except behind the scenes, I was bored, unfulfilled and miserable. In fact, I realised, I had made a mistake leaving a previous job in […]
Since the onset of the pandemic, I had been COVID-19 free! Thank goodness! About two weeks ago, I suddenly felt extremely light-headed. For the first time, I had this intense “out of body experience”. The next day was met with dragging myself out of bed. I brushed it off as “working too much.” I had […]
Working at the policy level mostly, I do miss on-the-ground action and interacting with patients. The short end of the story is that the Operation Smile discovered me during a One Million Youth Leaders (@1m2030) webinar last year. When I had been approached to be an Operation Smile Ambassador for South Africa, I knew immediately […]
Gender-based violence (GBV) is part of our everyday vocabulary. Sometimes it’s used too loosely for my liking, sometimes it’s used to meet donor targets, or some quick once-off campaign or fancy speak. High rates of crime, femicide and GBV in South Africa are a reality and many of us live in fear each day, at […]
About two years ago, I travelled to Tunisia for training. All around, were the ravages of what I guess were the 2015 inhumane terrorist attacks and follow-on events. Expensive yachts have been abandoned, beautiful hotels are in ruins, huge parts of coastal areas such as Hammamet are deserted, even five-star hotels are completely empty. At […]
I had been quite a newbie on Twitter in 2016 and had taken my chances to DM (aka direct message) Sharon D’Agostino to network during a Conference. This was one of my first attempts at networking back then and I was not quite sure what to expect. Sharon immediately invited me to sit down, and […]
If I reflect on the past decade or so which I have spent in the field of public health, there are a few things which stand out for me; 1) the politicisation or controversial nature of women’s health and young people’s health (including adolescent health), 2) the struggle it has been to begin to make […]
Much has been written about the impact of COVID-19. One of the more prominent issues which has come to light within the framework of health systems governance, has been Government corruption associated with COVID-19 response funds. There is less focus on the severe impact on civil society organisations (CSOs) and their critical role in bolstering […]
These past few months, I felt rejuvenated, energised and saw the passion I have for better health systems come to life, like never before. I have been avidly following and supporting my colleague Simon Marot Toulong Facebook posts as his dream is to one day be Commissioner in his home town in South Sudan. He […]
Website Standard Privacy and Cookies Policy
Where we refer to “process”, it means how we collect, use, store, make available, destroy, update, disclose, or otherwise deal with your personal information. As a general rule we will only process your personal information if this is required to deliver or offer a service or product.
We may combine your personal information and use the combined personal information for any of the purposes stated in this Privacy Policy.
In this document any reference to “we” or “us” or “our” includes our company and any of its subsidiaries.
If you use our services, goods, products and service channels you agree that we may process your personal information as explained under this Privacy Policy. Sometimes you may provide us with consent to process your personal information. Read it carefully because it may limit your rights.
As a global organisation this Privacy Policy will apply to the processing of personal information by any member of our company globally. If we process personal information for another party under a contract or a mandate, the other party’s privacy policy will apply to the processing.
We can change this Privacy Policy from time to time if the law or its business practices requires it.
The version of the Privacy Policy displayed on our website will apply to your interactions with us.
Personal information refers to any information that identifies you or specifically relates to you. Personal information includes, but is not limited to, the following information about you:
We will only process your personal information for lawful purposes relating to our business if the following applies:
Special personal information is personal information about the following:
We may process your special personal information in the following circumstances:
If the law requires us to do so, we will ask for your consent before collecting personal information about you from third parties.
The third parties from whom we may collect your personal information include, but are not limited to, the following:
In general we will only share your personal information if any one or more of the following apply:
We will only transfer your personal information to third parties in another country in any one or more of the following circumstances:
This transfer will happen within the requirements and safeguards of the law. Where possible, the party processing your personal information in the other country will agree to apply the same level of protection as available by law in your country or if the other country’s laws provide better protection the other country’s laws would be agreed to and applied.
An example of us transferring your personal information to another country is where foreign payments take place if you purchase goods or services in a foreign country.
TAKE NOTE: We are a global organisation your personal information may be shared within all our company entities in other countries and processed in those countries.
You must inform us when your personal information changes.
Please refer to our Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 Manual (PAIA Manual) for further information on how you can give effect to the rights listed below. Download the PAIA Manual.
You have the right to request access to the personal information we have about you by contacting us. This includes requesting:
We will attend to requests for access to personal information within a reasonable time. You may be required to pay a reasonable fee to receive copies or descriptions of records, or information about third parties. We will inform you of the fee before attending to your request.
Please note that the law may limit your right to access information.
You have the right to request us to correct or delete the personal information we have about you if it is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading, obtained unlawfully or we are no longer authorised to keep it. You must inform us of your request in writing. Please refer to our PAIA Manual for further information in this regard, like the process you should follow to give effect to this right. It may take up to 15 business days for the change to reflect on our systems. We may request documents from you to verify the change in personal information.
A specific agreement that you have entered into with us may determine how you must change your personal information provided at the time when you entered into the specific agreement. Please adhere to these requirements. If the law requires us to keep the personal information, it will not be deleted upon your request. The deletion of certain personal information may lead to the termination of your business relationship with us.
You may object on reasonable grounds to the processing of your personal information.
We will not be able to give effect to your objection if the processing of your personal information was and is permitted by law; you have provided consent to the processing and our processing done according to your consent or the processing is necessary to conclude or perform under a contract with you.
Where you have provided your consent for the processing of your personal information, you may withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent we will explain the consequences to you. We may proceed to process your personal information even if you have withdrawn your consent if the law permits or requires it. It may take up to 15 business days for the change to reflect on our systems, during this time we may still process your personal information. You must inform us of any objection in writing. Please refer to our PAIA Manual for further information in this regard, like the process you should follow to give effect to this right.
You have a right to file a complaint with us or any Regulator with jurisdiction about an alleged contravention of the protection of your personal information by us. We will address your complaint as far as possible.
We will keep your personal information for as long as:
Take note: We may keep your personal information even if you no longer have a relationship with us, for the historical data that may be required by your employer or employee.
A cookie is a small piece of data sent from our websites or applications to your computer or device hard drive or Internet browser where it is saved. The cookie contains information to personalise your experience on our websites or applications and may improve your experience on the websites or applications. The cookie will also identify your device, like the computer or smart phone.
By using our websites or applications you agree that cookies may be forwarded from the relevant website or application to your computer or device. The cookie will enable us to know that you have visited the website or application before and will identify you. We may also use the cookie to prevent fraud and for analytics.
Website Standard Privacy and Cookies Policy
Where we refer to “process”, it means how we collect, use, store, make available, destroy, update, disclose, or otherwise deal with your personal information. As a general rule we will only process your personal information if this is required to deliver or offer a service or product.
We may combine your personal information and use the combined personal information for any of the purposes stated in this Privacy Policy.
In this document any reference to “we” or “us” or “our” includes our company and any of its subsidiaries.
If you use our services, goods, products and service channels you agree that we may process your personal information as explained under this Privacy Policy. Sometimes you may provide us with consent to process your personal information. Read it carefully because it may limit your rights.
As a global organisation this Privacy Policy will apply to the processing of personal information by any member of our company globally. If we process personal information for another party under a contract or a mandate, the other party’s privacy policy will apply to the processing.
We can change this Privacy Policy from time to time if the law or its business practices requires it.
The version of the Privacy Policy displayed on our website will apply to your interactions with us.
Personal information refers to any information that identifies you or specifically relates to you. Personal information includes, but is not limited to, the following information about you:
We will only process your personal information for lawful purposes relating to our business if the following applies:
Special personal information is personal information about the following:
We may process your special personal information in the following circumstances:
If the law requires us to do so, we will ask for your consent before collecting personal information about you from third parties.
The third parties from whom we may collect your personal information include, but are not limited to, the following:
In general we will only share your personal information if any one or more of the following apply:
We will only transfer your personal information to third parties in another country in any one or more of the following circumstances:
This transfer will happen within the requirements and safeguards of the law. Where possible, the party processing your personal information in the other country will agree to apply the same level of protection as available by law in your country or if the other country’s laws provide better protection the other country’s laws would be agreed to and applied.
An example of us transferring your personal information to another country is where foreign payments take place if you purchase goods or services in a foreign country.
TAKE NOTE: We are a global organisation your personal information may be shared within all our company entities in other countries and processed in those countries.
You must inform us when your personal information changes.
Please refer to our Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 Manual (PAIA Manual) for further information on how you can give effect to the rights listed below. Download the PAIA Manual.
You have the right to request access to the personal information we have about you by contacting us. This includes requesting:
We will attend to requests for access to personal information within a reasonable time. You may be required to pay a reasonable fee to receive copies or descriptions of records, or information about third parties. We will inform you of the fee before attending to your request.
Please note that the law may limit your right to access information.
You have the right to request us to correct or delete the personal information we have about you if it is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading, obtained unlawfully or we are no longer authorised to keep it. You must inform us of your request in writing. Please refer to our PAIA Manual for further information in this regard, like the process you should follow to give effect to this right. It may take up to 15 business days for the change to reflect on our systems. We may request documents from you to verify the change in personal information.
A specific agreement that you have entered into with us may determine how you must change your personal information provided at the time when you entered into the specific agreement. Please adhere to these requirements. If the law requires us to keep the personal information, it will not be deleted upon your request. The deletion of certain personal information may lead to the termination of your business relationship with us.
You may object on reasonable grounds to the processing of your personal information.
We will not be able to give effect to your objection if the processing of your personal information was and is permitted by law; you have provided consent to the processing and our processing done according to your consent or the processing is necessary to conclude or perform under a contract with you.
Where you have provided your consent for the processing of your personal information, you may withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent we will explain the consequences to you. We may proceed to process your personal information even if you have withdrawn your consent if the law permits or requires it. It may take up to 15 business days for the change to reflect on our systems, during this time we may still process your personal information. You must inform us of any objection in writing. Please refer to our PAIA Manual for further information in this regard, like the process you should follow to give effect to this right.
You have a right to file a complaint with us or any Regulator with jurisdiction about an alleged contravention of the protection of your personal information by us. We will address your complaint as far as possible.
We will keep your personal information for as long as:
Take note: We may keep your personal information even if you no longer have a relationship with us, for the historical data that may be required by your employer or employee.
A cookie is a small piece of data sent from our websites or applications to your computer or device hard drive or Internet browser where it is saved. The cookie contains information to personalise your experience on our websites or applications and may improve your experience on the websites or applications. The cookie will also identify your device, like the computer or smart phone.
By using our websites or applications you agree that cookies may be forwarded from the relevant website or application to your computer or device. The cookie will enable us to know that you have visited the website or application before and will identify you. We may also use the cookie to prevent fraud and for analytics.
