Date: 20/09/2004
Source: Ministry of Health
Title: M Tshabalala-Msimang: Launch of Women's achievers in Public Health Sector booklet
ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF HEALTH, DR TSHABLALA-MSIMANG, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE 'WOMEN ACHIEVERS IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH SECTOR' BOOKLET, 20 September 2004
I would like to welcome all of you to the launch of the "Women Achievers in the Public Health Sector" booklet. I must mention that we intended holding this ceremony during August, which was a Women's month. Although we were unable to launch this booklet at that time, we agreed that it was critical to have this function to honour the people who have made a major contribution to improving the health status of our population over the past ten years.
This is a very special occasion, which gives all of us an opportunity to pay special tribute to you, the women of our country. These are people who have laboured tirelessly to ensure that health care policy is translated into reality and that legislation is worth more than just the paper it is printed on.
Today, 10yrs after the first historic election, I feel honoured and privileged to pay tribute to the women in health who on a daily basis, serve our communities, our clinics, our hospitals, our health departments and our ministries to ensure that all South Africans have access to affordable, quality health services.
After the historic1994 election, integration of the fragmented health facilities and administrations presented an immense challenge. With such integration came the need to improve access to health services for the majority of people whose needs were not catered for during the apartheid era. Other challenges included ensuring that resources were allocated equitably to provinces. Included in that was a shift of resources to primary health care as well as the management of expenditure to ensure that the budget was effectively utilised.
Women have made a major contribution in the progress we have made over the past ten years towards creating a caring and humane society in which all South Africans have access to affordable, good quality health care.
Although we are still far from realising this vision, it is proper that we sing your praises today. This is in recognition of the major changes that have been brought to the lives of many South African as result of your work in the health sector and many other areas that have an impact on the health status of our people. The implementation of the Patient Rights' Charter is increasingly creating an environment where our health workers understand and respect the rights of patients and patients take responsibility for their health and respect the rights of health providers.
Today we are implementing health programmes in a society in which the overwhelming majority of people have access to clean water and are increasingly accessing proper sanitation, housing and other basic services. Millions of children are now ensured a meal during their school day and women are being empowered to take care of their reproductive health and of their health during pregnancy.
We now have such legislation as Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, Domestic Violence Act, Maintenance Act and Customary Marriages Act, which have improved the status and protected the interest of many women in country. We have established such institutions as the Commission on Gender Equality and the Office of the Status of Women to ensure that we do not lose momentum in our struggle for gender equality.
Last month was an ideal opportunity to reflect on the nationwide progress made to advance the status of women. It was also an ideal opportunity for women to celebrate their achievements and focus on how to advance from these gains. Gradually things are getting better. However, there is still a lot which needs to be done to reach a point where both women and men enjoy equal recognition and respect of their rights, abilities, interests and needs.
The Department of Health has a strong conviction that women have the right to access the highest attainable standard of social, physical and mental health. The right of access to health care is vital in enabling women to participate fully in all areas of public and private life.
The major barrier for women to access the highest attainable standard of health is inequality, both between women and men and among women in different geographical regions and socio-economic settings. The high levels of poverty and economic dependency amongst women, their exposure to violence and other forms of discrimination continue to undermine the health of women and girls. Many women still have limited power over their sexual and reproductive lives and their influence in decision-making remains limited.
It is therefore important that women take the lead in ensuring their participation in planning and decision-making processes especially in improving accessibility and quality of health care services. Women are best placed to guide the design and implementation of gender sensitive health programmes that address the needs of women, children, elderly and other groups with special needs.
In line with the vision of the Department referred to earlier, Gender Policy Guidelines were developed as a framework to monitor legislation and policies to ensure:
* Firstly, equitable attention to the health needs of women, men, girls and boys
* Secondly, equal access to quality health care at all levels of the health system; and,
* Lastly equal rights and opportunities for both women and men within the Department of Health.
Gender Policy Guidelines are also a sign of the department's commitment to women's health and promotion of norms and practices that eliminate discrimination against women and encourage both women and men to take responsibility for their health including sexual and reproductive behaviour.
Through initiatives such as the Gender Policy Guidelines, and Batho Pele: White Paper on the Transformation of Public Service Delivery, Government has sought to ensure that legislation, policies and programmes are more responsive to gender-specific issues.
The challenge has not only to transform services rendered but also to ensure transformation and gender equity amongst those who serve in the quest to provide access to affordable, good quality health care.
Government and the Department of Health in particular are ensuring that our recruitment and retention strategies achieve gender equity target we have set for ourselves. In fact at national level, our human resource composition has surpassed all transformation targets set by the Department of Public Service and Administration by wide margins.
We have a woman Minister and Deputy Minister. Two of the three Deputy Directors General of the Department and one of my two advisers are women. Out of the entire employee population in the national department, 76% of them fall within the designated groups as defined by the Employment Equity Act with women constituting 58% of the total number of employees.
Women constitute 59% of middle management of the Department and 66% at junior management as well as 56% at supervision and production level. This totals to an average of 58% women managers, which is almost double the target of 30% female managers set by the DPSA. We have to now ensure that the changes that have taken place at the national level are reflected throughout the health sector, down to facility level. To this end, I challenge the provinces and all other health entities to follow this good example.
The booklet we are launching today is recognition of the contribution made by all women in this sector. It is just that it was impossible to include each and every one of them in one publication. We had a very inclusive process of selecting individuals who appear in this publication with each province proposing names of women to include in this booklet.
This publication covers a wide range of people - from the first Minister of Health in a democratic South Africa and many women MECs who have served this sector with dedication, to a number of senior officials who worked and continue to work hard to ensure that we bring dignity to our people through quality health care. It also recognises many women health workers who are at the forefront of the delivery of health services and women community activists who ensure that health services reach out to all the communities.
As the Department of Health, we are saying thank you to all women working in the health sector. Without you, we would not have reached this level. Keep up the good work and ensure that we ultimately realise our vision of an accessible, caring and high quality health system.
Issued by: Ministry of Health
20 September 2004
Source: Department of Health (http://www.doh.gov.za)
Source: Ministry of Health
Title: M Tshabalala-Msimang: Launch of Women's achievers in Public Health Sector booklet
ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF HEALTH, DR TSHABLALA-MSIMANG, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE 'WOMEN ACHIEVERS IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH SECTOR' BOOKLET, 20 September 2004
I would like to welcome all of you to the launch of the "Women Achievers in the Public Health Sector" booklet. I must mention that we intended holding this ceremony during August, which was a Women's month. Although we were unable to launch this booklet at that time, we agreed that it was critical to have this function to honour the people who have made a major contribution to improving the health status of our population over the past ten years.
This is a very special occasion, which gives all of us an opportunity to pay special tribute to you, the women of our country. These are people who have laboured tirelessly to ensure that health care policy is translated into reality and that legislation is worth more than just the paper it is printed on.
Today, 10yrs after the first historic election, I feel honoured and privileged to pay tribute to the women in health who on a daily basis, serve our communities, our clinics, our hospitals, our health departments and our ministries to ensure that all South Africans have access to affordable, quality health services.
After the historic1994 election, integration of the fragmented health facilities and administrations presented an immense challenge. With such integration came the need to improve access to health services for the majority of people whose needs were not catered for during the apartheid era. Other challenges included ensuring that resources were allocated equitably to provinces. Included in that was a shift of resources to primary health care as well as the management of expenditure to ensure that the budget was effectively utilised.
Women have made a major contribution in the progress we have made over the past ten years towards creating a caring and humane society in which all South Africans have access to affordable, good quality health care.
Although we are still far from realising this vision, it is proper that we sing your praises today. This is in recognition of the major changes that have been brought to the lives of many South African as result of your work in the health sector and many other areas that have an impact on the health status of our people. The implementation of the Patient Rights' Charter is increasingly creating an environment where our health workers understand and respect the rights of patients and patients take responsibility for their health and respect the rights of health providers.
Today we are implementing health programmes in a society in which the overwhelming majority of people have access to clean water and are increasingly accessing proper sanitation, housing and other basic services. Millions of children are now ensured a meal during their school day and women are being empowered to take care of their reproductive health and of their health during pregnancy.
We now have such legislation as Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, Domestic Violence Act, Maintenance Act and Customary Marriages Act, which have improved the status and protected the interest of many women in country. We have established such institutions as the Commission on Gender Equality and the Office of the Status of Women to ensure that we do not lose momentum in our struggle for gender equality.
Last month was an ideal opportunity to reflect on the nationwide progress made to advance the status of women. It was also an ideal opportunity for women to celebrate their achievements and focus on how to advance from these gains. Gradually things are getting better. However, there is still a lot which needs to be done to reach a point where both women and men enjoy equal recognition and respect of their rights, abilities, interests and needs.
The Department of Health has a strong conviction that women have the right to access the highest attainable standard of social, physical and mental health. The right of access to health care is vital in enabling women to participate fully in all areas of public and private life.
The major barrier for women to access the highest attainable standard of health is inequality, both between women and men and among women in different geographical regions and socio-economic settings. The high levels of poverty and economic dependency amongst women, their exposure to violence and other forms of discrimination continue to undermine the health of women and girls. Many women still have limited power over their sexual and reproductive lives and their influence in decision-making remains limited.
It is therefore important that women take the lead in ensuring their participation in planning and decision-making processes especially in improving accessibility and quality of health care services. Women are best placed to guide the design and implementation of gender sensitive health programmes that address the needs of women, children, elderly and other groups with special needs.
In line with the vision of the Department referred to earlier, Gender Policy Guidelines were developed as a framework to monitor legislation and policies to ensure:
* Firstly, equitable attention to the health needs of women, men, girls and boys
* Secondly, equal access to quality health care at all levels of the health system; and,
* Lastly equal rights and opportunities for both women and men within the Department of Health.
Gender Policy Guidelines are also a sign of the department's commitment to women's health and promotion of norms and practices that eliminate discrimination against women and encourage both women and men to take responsibility for their health including sexual and reproductive behaviour.
Through initiatives such as the Gender Policy Guidelines, and Batho Pele: White Paper on the Transformation of Public Service Delivery, Government has sought to ensure that legislation, policies and programmes are more responsive to gender-specific issues.
The challenge has not only to transform services rendered but also to ensure transformation and gender equity amongst those who serve in the quest to provide access to affordable, good quality health care.
Government and the Department of Health in particular are ensuring that our recruitment and retention strategies achieve gender equity target we have set for ourselves. In fact at national level, our human resource composition has surpassed all transformation targets set by the Department of Public Service and Administration by wide margins.
We have a woman Minister and Deputy Minister. Two of the three Deputy Directors General of the Department and one of my two advisers are women. Out of the entire employee population in the national department, 76% of them fall within the designated groups as defined by the Employment Equity Act with women constituting 58% of the total number of employees.
Women constitute 59% of middle management of the Department and 66% at junior management as well as 56% at supervision and production level. This totals to an average of 58% women managers, which is almost double the target of 30% female managers set by the DPSA. We have to now ensure that the changes that have taken place at the national level are reflected throughout the health sector, down to facility level. To this end, I challenge the provinces and all other health entities to follow this good example.
The booklet we are launching today is recognition of the contribution made by all women in this sector. It is just that it was impossible to include each and every one of them in one publication. We had a very inclusive process of selecting individuals who appear in this publication with each province proposing names of women to include in this booklet.
This publication covers a wide range of people - from the first Minister of Health in a democratic South Africa and many women MECs who have served this sector with dedication, to a number of senior officials who worked and continue to work hard to ensure that we bring dignity to our people through quality health care. It also recognises many women health workers who are at the forefront of the delivery of health services and women community activists who ensure that health services reach out to all the communities.
As the Department of Health, we are saying thank you to all women working in the health sector. Without you, we would not have reached this level. Keep up the good work and ensure that we ultimately realise our vision of an accessible, caring and high quality health system.
Issued by: Ministry of Health
20 September 2004
Source: Department of Health (http://www.doh.gov.za)
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