The Petition Goal

 

We call on the South African Department of Health to urgently include Dienogest on the Essential Medicines List (EML). Millions of South African women suffer from endometriosis (~1 in 10 women). We deserve free access to modern, targeted treatments in the public sector, rather than being forced onto outdated contraceptives that do nothing to stop the progression of this debilitating disease.

 

My Story: The Reality of Endometriosis in South Africa

 

I have suffered from endometriosis since puberty. For six years, I have desperately sought effective treatment. Out of everything I have tried, a medication called Dienogest was the only thing that made a change. It gave me my life back.

Unfortunately, because it is not on the government's Essential Medicines List, it is not free. This medication is extremely expensive and effectiveness can even vary from brand to brand. I personally found Metrinelle to be the most effective for me.

Without it, my reality is devastating. I am now forced to rely on strong, government-prescribed opioids just to mask the agony. These heavy narcotics stop the pain temporarily, but they do absolutely nothing to stop the progressive physical damage the disease is causing inside my body. It is heartbreaking to lose your freedom, your youth, and your quality of life to an invisible disability.

When you are in extreme pain with no visible signs, you are routinely shrugged off and dismissed. Nobody understands. I do not choose to go to the public hospital for fun or attention, yet every single time I go, (being the rape capital of the world and having an ongoing femicide) I am subjected to sexual harassment from staff and other hospital visitors alike. The medical trauma, skepticism, and constant fatigue I experience is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. I go through all of that just to find that I have no other options than to go broke trying to manage my health privately or be in debilitating pain and rely on prescribed opioids for the rest of my life. 

Everything could be made so much easier if the correct medication was simply available to us. Even my doctor was shocked when I told her Dienogest wasn't deemed an Essential Medicine. She said, "But it is essential!" All I could say was, "I know." It's just ultrasound after ultrasound when it is common knowledge that it won't show deep seated endometriosis, yet they refuse to perform a laparoscopy despite it being requested. Furthermore, the requirements to be referred for specialized treatment at other government hospitals are so specific that they're impossible to meet with and invisible disability. 

 

My story is not unique. Millions of women and individuals across South Africa are trapped in this exact same cycle:

• The Poverty Barrier: Modern, life-changing treatments exist, but they are locked behind a paywall. Impoverished public healthcare patients are completely left behind. 
• Fast-track Patients: 6 years of research just to get told I need to suck it up or pay for my own treatment is 6 years of my life down the drain. I had to book another meaningless ultrasound in October, with the next available date in February 2027. Patients are told to just suffer in silence while they're put on a never ending wait-list.  Fast treatment is suicide prevention. Up to 50% of endometriosis patients have struggled with suicidal thoughts. Something has to be done to fast-track patients who are in high amounts of pain.
• Outdated Medical Protocols: The public sector relies on archaic methods, pushing outdated contraceptives like Depo-Provera as a cure for a complex, destructive disease. Outdated contraceptives like this have been known to cause more harm than good. 
• Systemic Neglect: Women's basic healthcare and reproductive chronic pain are simply not treated as a priority by this government. With the lack of action taken regarding the femicide, and still being victimized in public healthcare facilities, this is unfortunately not a shock. 

 

Our Demands

 

1. Add Dienogest to the EML: Formally review and add Dienogest to the Primary and Secondary Healthcare EML so public health patients can access it safely and for free.
2. Stop the Over-Reliance on Opioids and Depo-Provera: Update the national standard treatment guidelines to prioritize targeted endometriosis therapies over addictive pain management and outdated contraceptives. Stop trying to mask symptoms and suffering while the actual issue progresses
3. Protect Patients from Institutional Trauma: Implement strict accountability and gender-based sensitivity training in public hospitals and emergency rooms to end the sexual harassment and medical dismissal of patients seeking gynecological care. There wasn't even supposed to be men in the gynaecology ward, and yet a man strolled right in and assaulted me while my mother and myself had to personally shout at him and chase him away, as security wasn't in the ward. 

Our health is not a luxury, it is essential. Please sign this petition to demand that the South African government finally prioritizes women's healthcare and stops our silent suffering.