At a conference with his health MECs and national and international health experts on Tuesday, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that the government recommitted itself to primary healthcare.

"We got our eye off the ball," said Motsoaledi, whose deputy Molefi Sefularo described the current health system as "fragmented".

"We recommitted to primary care as the foundation of our national health system and recognised the need to effect significant improvements in management and service delivery at the point of service," Motsoaledi said as he provided information on what was discussed at the conference.

While the department felt it was progressing on national priorities such as National Health Insurance, and full implementation of the national HIV/Aids plan, "we must effect immediate and evident improvement in quality and efficiency particularly at the primary healthcare level".

Everybody in the country was entitled to be treated if they were ill, but it need not be expensive.

"You don't need to go to the most expensive [hospital], you can go to primary."

According to a paper released at the conference by the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation, one of the government's ten most effective health strategies was free primary health care.

But, they also said that "accomplishments of the past decade are largely overshadowed by the burden of HIV/Aids on mortality and the health system".

Motsoaledi said that prevention of disease was important, as was prevention of HIV/Aids, but that the government would continue with its HIV/Aids treatment campaign and that "none is going to be left behind".