Civil Society Watch 15 November — 21 November
The critical importance of maternal nutrition, food security and health inequalities among children under five years

Discussing the critical nature of the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, how protest movements are formed, disparities in children’s health and a human rights-based approach to critical food studies.
On Monday 15 November, the University of Free State and Macah Foundation is hosting a series of webinars called “Make the First 1,000 days count!” Professor Corinna Walsh will be discussing “The Importance of Maternal Nutrition: Does it impact the growth of the foetus?” You can register for the event here.
Also from Monday 15 to 20 November, the Global Summit on Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines will be marking 20 years since the Doha Declaration, with a summit on reimagining access. You can find the programme details here.
On Tuesday 16 November at 1pm, the “First 1,000 Days” webinar series will be focusing on the topic of breastfeeding with Prof Welma Lubbe. You can register to attend here.
On Wednesday 17 November at 2pm the Human Sciences Research Council is hosting the webinar Leaving No Child Behind: Disparities in Children’s Health — A Case of India and South Africa. Under discussion will be case studies conducted in South Africa and India regarding the socioeconomic inequalities in the health of children under five years old. You can register to attend here.
From Wednesday 17 to 19 November The universities of Western Cape, Pretoria and KwaZulu-Natal will be hosting a virtual conference titled Critical Food Studies: South Africa and Beyond which seeks to draw innovative humanities and creative work together in lively conversation. Humanities-driven food studies are making steady inroads into food security studies domains that previously neglected human, cultural and anti-positivist perspectives. You can register to attend here.
On Thursday 18 November at 1pm, the First 1,000 Days webinar series discusses Baby nutrition: the foundation for future health with Prof Corinna Walsh. You can register to attend here.
The Centre for Civil Society is hosting a special webinar series on Protest and Protest Movement. It aims to explore protest expressions and the movements behind them focusing on: racial justice, gender justice, LGTBQI+ rights, pro-democracy rights, state corruption opposition, anti-repression protest, pandemic rights, environmental justice and the right to equal services and livelihoods. The series will be engaging with activists, researchers, and academics to consider the civil society terrain in a post-Covid world.
Thursday afternoon’s topic at 4pm will be What do the Indian Farm Laws Say and Why Are the Farmers Protesting Against Them? The talk will address what the so-called ‘farm law’ is about and why there is such staunch opposition. Professor Radha D’Souza will analyse the three farm laws and analyse the far-reaching impact they will have on the agrarian society sector in India and the ways in which the farmers’ protests are changing the political landscape in the country. You can attend the discussion here. DM/MC

Members of UCT’s Department of Child Health were doing groundbreaking work on rural malnutrition and the prevalence of kwashiorkor fifty years ago, to the annoyance of the then government. Has anything changed?