About - Health Justice Initiative (HJI)

Who we are

The global COVID-19 pandemic has exposed massive inequalities in public health. The HJI was launched in July 2020 in South Africa to advocate for a more inclusive, equitable public health system, locally and globally, both during and beyond the pandemic.

The HJI uses the law, research, and advocacy to tackle the factors that shape inequity in health access, and work towards ensuring access to lifesaving diagnostics, treatment, and vaccines.

The HJI has a strong and committed team, Board and Reference Advisory Group, whose members have longstanding expertise in law, public health, economics, scientific advancement, policy development, activism, and community engagement. The Board and Reference Advisory Group guide the HJI on its governance, strategic focus areas and partnership models.

The HJI’s vision to create a more inclusive and equitable public health system is guided by a three-year strategic plan (2022–2024).

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The HJI’s Strategy

The Health Justice Initiative has a new Three-Year Strategic Plan (2022-2024) to guide our efforts to change the system and tackle the factors that shape inequality in health access.

We use the law, research, and advocacy tools to work towards a more inclusive and equitable public health system, both during and beyond the pandemic, with a focus on four objectives:

To contribute to positive legislative reforms that support Universal Health Coverage for all.
To examine and address the structural determinants of ill health and the legal and other socio-economic barriers faced by people who use and rely on the health system.
Advocate for law and policy reform to address barriers to affordable and fair access to life-saving medical technologies.
Advocate for greater transparency and accountability of the public and private health sectors including statutory, regulatory and oversight bodies.

Explore the HJI’s Strategy:

The HJI works in partnership with other organisations that focus broadly on rights protections. Given South Africa’s massive inequality and dual health care system, we address the factors that influence inequity in health access (with a focus on medicine access) during pandemics, and beyond, with a focus on race, class and gender.