The Ministerial Advisory Committees and 3 years of COVID-19 expertise – is the Department of Health’s model for information-sharing pandemic-ready?
Effective pandemic decision-making depends on scientific expert evidence, transparency about public health policy decision-making, its rationales and the evidence on which it is based. The South African government laudably committed its COVID-19 response to be guided by science and evidence. Ye...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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South African Medical Association
2024-08-01
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| Series: | South African Medical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/samj/article/view/1943 |
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| _version_ | 1823860573751738368 |
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| author | M Richter Y Nokhepheyi |
| author_facet | M Richter Y Nokhepheyi |
| author_sort | M Richter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Effective pandemic decision-making depends on scientific expert evidence, transparency about public health policy decision-making, its rationales and the evidence on which it is based. The South African government laudably committed its COVID-19 response to be guided by science and evidence. Yet, the expert advice that it received was not always readily made available to the public. This submission analyses the time elapsed between the submission of COVID-19 Ministerial Advisory Committees memoranda to the Minister of Health, and the Department of Health’s subsequent publication of these for the period August 2020 - January 2024. It also summarises the outcomes of the Health Justice Initiative’s access to information legal action against the department on expert advice and government decision-making during the pandemic.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-692abdb1b9da4acb927a0c4e0404fb41 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0256-9574 2078-5135 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-08-01 |
| publisher | South African Medical Association |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Medical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-692abdb1b9da4acb927a0c4e0404fb412025-02-10T12:25:46ZengSouth African Medical AssociationSouth African Medical Journal0256-95742078-51352024-08-01114810.7196/SAMJ.2024.v114i8.1943The Ministerial Advisory Committees and 3 years of COVID-19 expertise – is the Department of Health’s model for information-sharing pandemic-ready?M Richter0Y Nokhepheyi1School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa, and African Centre for Migration and Society, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Former researcher at the Health Justice Initiative, Cape Town, South AfricaFormer researcher at the Health Justice Initiative, Cape Town, South Africa Effective pandemic decision-making depends on scientific expert evidence, transparency about public health policy decision-making, its rationales and the evidence on which it is based. The South African government laudably committed its COVID-19 response to be guided by science and evidence. Yet, the expert advice that it received was not always readily made available to the public. This submission analyses the time elapsed between the submission of COVID-19 Ministerial Advisory Committees memoranda to the Minister of Health, and the Department of Health’s subsequent publication of these for the period August 2020 - January 2024. It also summarises the outcomes of the Health Justice Initiative’s access to information legal action against the department on expert advice and government decision-making during the pandemic. https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/samj/article/view/1943Pandemic readiness, Access to information, Expert Advice |
| spellingShingle | M Richter Y Nokhepheyi The Ministerial Advisory Committees and 3 years of COVID-19 expertise – is the Department of Health’s model for information-sharing pandemic-ready? South African Medical Journal Pandemic readiness, Access to information, Expert Advice |
| title | The Ministerial Advisory Committees and 3 years of COVID-19 expertise – is the Department of Health’s model for information-sharing pandemic-ready? |
| title_full | The Ministerial Advisory Committees and 3 years of COVID-19 expertise – is the Department of Health’s model for information-sharing pandemic-ready? |
| title_fullStr | The Ministerial Advisory Committees and 3 years of COVID-19 expertise – is the Department of Health’s model for information-sharing pandemic-ready? |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Ministerial Advisory Committees and 3 years of COVID-19 expertise – is the Department of Health’s model for information-sharing pandemic-ready? |
| title_short | The Ministerial Advisory Committees and 3 years of COVID-19 expertise – is the Department of Health’s model for information-sharing pandemic-ready? |
| title_sort | ministerial advisory committees and 3 years of covid 19 expertise is the department of health s model for information sharing pandemic ready |
| topic | Pandemic readiness, Access to information, Expert Advice |
| url | https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/samj/article/view/1943 |
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