Healh

With regard to ongoing complaints in South Africa about the forced and/or coerced sterilisation of HIV- and Aids-positive black women at certain public hospitals in the country:

1. Whether there are any cases in Western Cape public health facilities of HIV-positive black women who were sterilised illegally without their consent since the enactment of the Sterilisation Act, 1998 (Act 44 of 1998); if so, (a) how many women have come forward to report cases of forced and/or coerced sterilisation at Western Cape public health facilities and (b) how many health professionals and government officials from her Department have been implicated in these medical procedures;

2. (a) how many forced and/or coerced sterilisation litigation matters have her Department had since 1998, (b) how many were settled out of court, (c) what is the overall amount of these settlements and (c) what is the number of non-disclosure agreements that have been signed in relation to these out-of-court settlements;

3. (a) what action did her Department take against health professionals and officials implicated in these litigation matters, (b) how does her Department plan to cover the costs of the resources to facilitate the reversal of the illegal sterilisations, where possible;

4. whether her Department has kept a record of all the cases of forced and/or coerced sterilisations at public health facilities; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?