16 March 2020

 Dear Partners of Iranti

Over the last two weeks, Iranti has monitored the increase and spread of COVID-19 globally and now in South Africa. In light of it being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Iranti has decided to put plans in place to best manage the health of our staff, our partners and thinking around how we will address the continuation of our human rights work.  This moment calls on us to be adaptive in our strategies and to adopt alternative ways to maintain optimal impact that will not be at the expense of the health of Iranti and its various stakeholders. I often say that fighting homophobia, transphobia and Intersexphobia is a marathon and the next couple of months will be the part of the route that is a constant uphill battle filled with many unprecedented challenges, but this does not mean that we can be dormant in our fight to realise human rights for our key populations.

Last night, South Africa’s President – Cyril Ramaphosa stated that our country currently has 61 cases of persons who tested positively for COVID-19 (since the statement it has increased to 62). He further stated that no country is immune to the disease. He declared that South Africa is now in a national state of disaster. Please do read the full statement with the measures the government has put in place to contain COVID-19 here. 

Dr Mike Ryan, Executive Director, Health Emergencies at WHO stated, “We cannot say this loudly enough, or clearly enough, or often enough: all countries can still change the course of this pandemic. This is the first pandemic that can be controlled. Be fast, have no regrets, the virus will get you if you don’t move quickly. We have to stop the chains of transmission. If you need to be right before you move, we will never win. Speed trumps perfection.”

In consultation with the Iranti Board we have therefore taken the necessary decision to work in the following ways until COVID-19 is under control.

• Iranti has canceled all in-person gatherings related to our programmes until further notice. Iranti will move its programming from in-person gatherings to online engagements.
• Iranti staff is prohibited from any international travel and local travel. This includes attending public meetings for until the end of March 2020.
• We will continue with our work remotely and commit to deliver work to the best of our abilities to our donors, partners and our communities.

We remain deeply committed to ensure that we exercise best hygiene, minimize in-person contact and put measures in place to minimize any harm in South Africa. 

For more information regarding this statement and current programmes, contact us here: info@iranti.org.za or visit our website www.iranti.org.za to reach out to particular staff and to stay informed on our work. 

We urge you to practice social distancing, to use online tools where possible, to enforce hygiene standards as noted by the World Health Organization and to use verified websites for updates on COVID-19.

Kindest regards

Jabulani Pereira

Executive Director