NHI will bridge healthcare gap between rich and poor – Motsoaledi

Motsoaledi

Cape Town — Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has unveiled the department’s budget for the 2024/2025 fiscal year, targeting the disparities in health benefits across the nation.

Motsoaledi presented the department’s budget in Parliament on Thursday and revealed the budget for the upcoming financial year is R62.2 billion, a 3.5 % increase from last year (R60.1 billion).

He said the country still had a long way to go to address the stark inequalities in the health sector, The Citizen reported.

“There is no debate at all, that South Africa is the most unequal society in the whole world. If you want to see what inequality means, come to the health sector in South Africa. Within the borders of the same country, some are getting world-class health care, while others get such poor health care you would believe we live in different countries,” the report quoted Motsoaledi as saying.

The minister addressed the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, which has seen even amounts of praise and criticism. He said some believe that South Africa is not ready for it, while others believe it is a very expensive system with no money for it.

“Let us clarify once more, NHI is a health financing system, called Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by the WHO (World Health Organisation). It is a health financing system, which is meant to be an equaliser between the rich and the poor.”

“Everybody agrees that we are the most unequal society in the whole world. If you want to see that gross inequality, come to the health care system and you will understand what inequality is all about. This ought to stop. It must end and end now.”

According to IOL, Motsoaledi acknowledged that South Africa spends 8.5% of its GDP on healthcare, which is on par with many European countries, but there is an imbalance in how the resources are split.

“51% of healthcare resources are directed towards only 14% of the population, while the remaining 49% must serve 86% of our people,” he said.

The NHI stands at the top of its plan to achieve financial equality in healthcare and bridge the gap between the rich and the poor to ensure equitable distribution of resources.

He outlined several strategic areas to focus on to realise this vision, which include effective leadership, robust governance, availability of essential medicine, as well as adequate training and deployment of healthcare workers.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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