Minister Joe Phaahla says the Portfolio Committee on Health in the National Assembly has made significant progress to process the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill after their work was paused due to the COVID-19 crisis.
\n\u201cWe have virtually completed the main work of the Bill. In the coming year, they will be able to finalise it and table it to a full sitting in the National Assembly.
\n\u201cWe can say, we are in a critical time when the legislative framework for our approach to Universal Health Coverage is almost completed.\u201d
\nPhaahla was speaking on Monday at a high-level Universal Health Coverage (UHC) seminar under the theme, \u2018Build the World We Want: A Healthy Future for All\u2019 at Birchwood Hotel in Kempton Park, Gauteng.
\nThe Minister told the guests that the UHC was not a new aspiration.
\n\u201cOur Bill of Rights states that the State must take progressive steps for the realisation of the right to health within the limit of its resources.\u201d
\nOn 12 December 2019, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed a resolution urging Member States to accelerate progress toward UHC.
\nAs part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, all countries committed to trying to achieve UHC by 2030, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential healthcare services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
\n\u201cUnfortunately, as it’s now common knowledge, hardly five months after this declaration, COVID descended and disrupted all our health services worldwide and in our own country,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe very same pandemic exposed the weaknesses of our health systems.\u201d
\nHe acknowledged that there are areas in the public health system that need intervention.
\n\u201cFinancing is key, but it’s not the only solution. However, the legislation in Parliament, which provide a framework for unified funding and provide a single-payer and single-purchaser system is very fundamental,\u201d he stressed.
\n\u201cAs we are gathered here, we recognise that we also need to do away with the elephant in the room, which is our highly fragmented health system, the two-tier health system.\u201d
\nHe said the current system exacerbates inequality and increases efficiencies.
\n\u201cIt is common knowledge that your top three private companies are much more profitable than mining companies, food producers and manufacturing companies.\u201d
\nWhile government is working around the clock so all people have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without facing financial hardship, Phaahla said many challenges lie ahead.
\n\u201cThere are already challenges, just in terms of the implementation of our structure of preparing for the NHI in the department. We are already in court with some of the right-wing organisations,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cOnce the Bill is passed in Parliament, there will be a slew of litigations.\u201d
\nIn addition, Deputy Health Minister, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, said the increasing health costs are pushing millions of people into poverty.
\n\u201cAchieving UHC will bring about human dignity and social justice. We also know that a healthy population is necessary to building a thriving economy and a competitive nation,\u201d Dhlomo said.
\nThe Deputy Minister said South Africa is one of the few countries that does not have a universal, tax-funded health system.
\n\u201cThis will ensure that no one is left behind and that all South Africans can live a long and healthy life. We must continue to lay the foundations for truly universally accessible healthcare as we build the country we all want.\u201d <\/p>\n
Source: South African Government News Agency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"