Discovery Health criticised for inviting Israeli organisations to Healthcare Summit

Discovery

Cape Town — Medical aid company Discovery Health South Africa has come under fire after inviting Israeli healthcare workers to the Future of Health (FOH) Summit in Cape Town.

Social media was abuzz when they discovered that Discovery had invited some Israeli health delegates to the summit. Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, the Director at the International Commission of Jurists – Africa, took to X and said Discovery had been tone-deaf in its approach.

“@Discovery_SA hosting a Health Summit with Israeli healthcare providers while Israel destroys Gaza hospitals is tone deaf and unconscionable. Despite CSO protests Summit will proceed on 19 Nov in Cape Town.”

Ammaarah Garda, a mid-twenties South African who strongly supports Palestine, echoed her views.

“The Summit sounds innocent enough – it’s a “Leadership Symposium” One look at the Programme and the group called FOH, things become much more concerning Why this should anger us,” she said.

“The FOH member organisations are diverse, but one that sticks out is “Ministry of Health” That is, the Israeli Ministry of Health,” she added.

In response to these claims, Discovery released a statement. It revealed that delegates from Israel attending the summit are administrators and managers from Sheba Medical Centre, and are not from the Israeli Minister of Health.

It acknowledged the concerns of some stakeholders and said the Summit was a forum for senior healthcare leaders to come together for a shared vision of the future of healthcare. It added that healthcare organisations from more than 14 countries participated in the summit, alongside 35 other organisations globally.

“For clarity, the delegates from Israel attending the FOH Summit are administrators and managers of the Sheba Medical Centre, not the Israeli Ministry of Health. There is, therefore, no direct involvement of the Israeli Ministry of Health in the FOH Summit. Furthermore, Discovery Health’s involvement is solely aimed at the continued advancement of healthcare in South Africa,” Discovery SA said.

“Against the backdrop of the health system transformation currently underway in South Africa, and our collective efforts towards achieving universal access to care, we believe that open dialogue and collaboration are essential to better healthcare,” it added.

It is the first time the Summit is being held in South Africa and Discovery said it was an opportunity to learn from some leading global healthcare organisations to engage in further healthcare discussions.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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