In the health sector, President Zuma identified projects aimed at laying the basis for the National Health Insurance system, such as the refurbishment of hospitals and nurses’ homes, in his State of the Nation Address of 2012.
In his Budget Vote speech for 2012/13, Minister of Health Aaron Motsoledi said the Department would work on four outputs in its quest to deliver a long and healthy life for all South Africans, namely:
- improving the life expectancy of all South Africans
- decreasing Maternal and Child Mortality
- dealing with the scourge of HIV and AIDS and TB
- improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system.
Minister Motsoaledi annouced the 10 pilot districts for the National Health Insurance system on 22 March 2012. He released a Green Paper on National Health Insurance [PDF] on 12 August 2011. It is seen as a 14-year project and the first five years will be a process of building and preparation. Dr Motsoaledi emphases that the cornerstone of the proposed system of NHI is universal coverage.
>> statement
Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan identified medium-term priorities in health spending in his 2012 Budget as hospital infrastructure, the comprehensive HIV and AIDS treatment and prevention programme, and expanding health professional training. Progress in these areas will strengthen the public health system, paving the way for the introduction of national health insurance.
The health sector was allocated an additional R12.3 billion over the next three years. R1 billion is allocated for national health insurance pilot projects and increasing primary healthcare visits. To improve health infrastructure, R450 million has been provided to upgrade about 30 nursing colleges. A further R426 million is allocated for the initial work on rebuilding five major tertiary hospitals. To accommodate provision of antiretroviral treatment at the CD4 threshold of 350, an additional R968 million is made available over the medium term.
In their State of the Province Addresses (SOPA), the Premiers of the nine provinces spelled out how they planned to spend the money allocated to them to improve health services in their provinces.
>> The state of provincial healthcare
The publication Government’s Year of Delivery 2011/12 produced to coincide with the State of the Nation Address details the achievements of the area of healthcare in 2011/12.
The National Development Plan, released on 11 November 2011, proposes among others:
- Broadening coverage of antiretroviral treatment to all HIV-positive people
- Speeding up training of community specialists in medicine, surgery including anaesthetics, obstetrics, paediatrics and psychiatry
- Recruiting, training and deploying between 700 000 and 1.3 million community health workers to implement community-based healthcare
- Setting minimum qualifications for hospital managers and ensuring that all managers have the necessary qualifications
- Implementing national health insurance in a phased manner
- Promoting active lifestyles and balanced diets and controlling alcohol abuse to reduce non-communicable diseases.
On the fight against HIV and AIDS, Government has revitalised programmes and promotes various prevention measures including medical male circumcision, prevention of mother to child transmission and the promotion of HIV testing. Read more about this and other issues in the Health Dept Budget Vote 2011/12.
Cabinet resolved on 23 November 2011 that all government departments that are signatories to the Negotiated Service Delivery Agreement (NSDA) 2010-2014 continue to work together to address cross-cutting issues such as increasing life expectancy, combating HIV and AIDS and TB and improving maternal and child health. This must also extend to work involving nutrition and measures to reduce the incidence of underweight and stunted growth among children. Accurate measurement of these indicators will assist in tracking the extent to which health and socio-economic interventions are reaching the intended beneficiaries.
The health minister and MECs have signed performance agreements based on Outcome 2: A long and healthy life for all South Africans. These documents list standards against which performance are measured.
>> Delivery agreement for outcome 2: A long and healthy life for all South Africans
Programmes and initiatives supporting health
Government will improve healthcare by:
- appointing appropriate and qualified heads of department, chief financial officers, hospital chief executive officers, district health officers and clinic managers
- reviving 105 nursing colleges countrywide, to train more nurses
- opening a medical faculty at the Limpopo Academic Hospital to train more doctors
- renovating and upgrading hospitals and clinics
- providing reproductive health rights and services that include contraception, sexually transmitted infections, teenage pregnancies and sanitary towels for the poor
- continuing to implement programmes that promote various prevention measures, including medical male circumcision, prevention of mother-to-child transmission and the promotion of HIV testing.
- The National Nursing Summit were used to critically reflect and discuss key issues affecting nurses and the nursing profession, within the context of South Africa’s disease burden, as well as the national and international health sector.
- HIV and AIDS Counselling and Testing (HCT) Campaign.
Read more about what Government does to improve South Africa's health status
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Last modified: 02 May 2012 09:07:19.
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