President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead the government delegation to the two-day Presidential Health Summit that will be convened on Friday and Saturday, 19 and 20 October 2018 at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, Gauteng.

The President is scheduled to address the Summit plenary at 11:00, on Friday, 19 October 2018.

The Presidential Health Summit will bring together key stakeholders from various constituencies in the health sector, to deliberate and propose solutions to address the challenges facing the South African health system. Delegates will work towards strengthening the health system to ensure that it provides access to quality health services for all in line with the principles of universal health coverage through an inclusive process.

South Africa has a two-tiered health system that consists of the public and private sectors. The current structure of the health system is significantly different from the apartheid era one which had 14 public sector health departments serving different ethnic and population groups.

An additional significant change is the private sector which grew from being a complementary service provider in the 1960s to becoming a significant source of funding and delivery of healthcare from the year 2000. While there have been major achievements in several areas, some areas remain unattended to, leading to a characterisation of the health system as being in a crisis. These challenges relate to both the private and public sectors.

The Presidential Health Summit follows a Consultative Meeting held earlier this year, on the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, with a particular focus on the recently gazetted National Health Insurance Bill and the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill, where the President reiterated the commitment of the South African Government to strengthening the health system, including through the progressive implementation of NHI.

The Summit will be used as a platform to further explore the issues and proposed solutions raised at the consultative meeting.

Details of the summit are as follows:

Day 1:            Friday, 19 October 2018

Time:             08:30 – 17:00

Venue:           Birchwood Conference Centre

Day 2:            Saturday 20 October 2018

Time:             08:00 – 16:30

Venue:           Birchwood Conference Centre

Members of the media covering the visit should send their names and ID/Passport numbers by 10h00 on 17 October 2018, to hlomanibaloyi@gmail.com  or 083 276 1295. Using the attached form.

NB: Only accredited media will be allowed to cover the event. Some of the sessions may be closed to the media.  Accredited media will be advised as soon as this information becomes available.

Collection of accreditation cards is as follows:

Date:              Thursday, 18 October 2018

Time:             12h00 – 18h00

Venue:           Birchwood Conference Center

NB: Members of the media are advised to collect the cards in person and to bring along their ID or Passport documents and press cards.

For more information on media accreditation contact: Hlomani Baloyi on 083 276 1295 and Howard Khoa on 079 876 9247.

Media enquiries:  Khusela Diko (Presidency Spokesperson) on 072 854 5707 and Popo Maja (Department of Health) on 072 585 3219.

Issued by Government Communication and Information System

16 October 2018