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Africa Month, in May, provides an opportunity to celebrate all cultures across the African continent.

May marks Africa Month, and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) says it is an opportunity for people across the continent to break down barriers.

While government continuously calls on South Africans to stop the cycle of neglect, abuse, violence and exploitation of children, an even greater focus is placed on protecting these vulnerable members of society during National Child Protection Week.

This year, National Child Protection Week will be commemorated from 30 May to 6 June. The Department of Social Development, in partnership with key government departments, civil society organisations and non-profit organisations that render child protection services, will run a campaign to generate awareness of children’s rights.

SASSA and GovChat have launched a pilot system to improve service delivery to disability grant applicants.

This is thanks to a new online system that will enable applicants to book their medical assessment from the comfort of their own home.

As part of government’s effort to accelerate land reform, the Covie community in the Western Cape received 764 000 hectares of land after a successful land claim.

The community lost their land and land rights under the apartheid government in 1978.

Deputy President David Mabuza, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform, presided over the ceremony that handed over the land and title deeds to the community.

South Africa will rely on the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Pfizer vaccines to protect citizens from the pandemic for now.

So far, government has secured 31.2 million J&J doses and 21.4 million Pfizer doses.

“Currently, the Pfizer and J&J vaccines have been registered by South Africa’s Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and have been selected for procurement,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine arrived in South Africa in early May.

While the world is focused on new vaccines to protect against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department of Health says it is important to ensure that routine vaccinations are not missed.

“In South Africa, about 298 935 children missed their routine immunisation since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, which suggests that they might be vulnerable to childhood diseases,” says the department.

To commemorate World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, Vuk’uzenzele chats to a recovering tobacco addict about overcoming his addiction.

Katlego Makhanda, from Moiletswane in the North West, knows all too well how hard it is to stop smoking. 

Until he stopped four years ago, Makhanda (28) used to smoke over 30 cigarettes a day. 

He started smoking when he was 18 as a result of peer pressure. 

We live in a country where not just journalists but any member of the public is able to freely articulate their views, their opinions and indeed their dissatisfaction without fear of retribution.

We have come a long way from the days where social protest by artists attracted banning orders, and critical reporting by journalists risked imprisonment or the closure of publications.

Recently, the organisation Reporters without Borders published the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, a barometer of the state of media freedom across the globe.

Citizens aged 60 years and above needs to register for their COVID-19

Vaccination through the EVDS self enrolment platform

6 steps to register for vaccination if you are 60 years or older: 

 Step 1

Make sure you have internet access

Step 2

You will need a smartphone, a tablet or a computer

Step 3

Connect to the internet and go to: https://vaccine .enroll.health.gov.za/#/

Step 4

Every adult in South Africa will have the opportunity to be vaccinated against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said government aims to vaccinate about 40 million people through its vaccination programme.

He assured South Africans that an effective vaccination programme is in place and vaccines will be made available to people across the country.

Responding to questions in Parliament recently, the
President said the vaccination programme is an unprecedented process.