Expenditure on health and social protection is set to grow steadily, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said on Wednesday.

“Health spending will reach R 178-billion in 2017/18. We have seen a marked reduction in child mortality over the past five years, supported by improved access to antenatal services. Our antiretroviral treatment programme now reaches 3-million patients,” he said, adding that the mother-to-child transmission of HIV has decreased from 20% a decade ago to 2% in 2014. It is expected to decline even further in the period ahead.

Delivering his maiden Budget speech to Parliament, the Minister said that R1.5-billion is shifted from provincial budgets to the national Department of Health to enable the National Institute of Communicable Diseases to be directly funded. This will be offset by lower tariffs for service providers by the National Health Laboratory Service. Port health services have also been shifted from provinces to the national department.

The office of Health Standards Compliance has been listed as an independent legal entity with a budget rising to R125-million in 2017/18.

The Minister said that under Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, there has been progress over the past year in preparing for the transition to the National Health Insurance (NHI).

He added that a discussion paper on financing options will be released shortly by National Treasury to accompany the NHI white paper.

In addition, the long outstanding discussion paper on social security reform will be published. “Both health insurance and social security are vital concerns of all South Africans and we look forward to public debate and engagement between stakeholders.”

Social grants

Social grants play an important role in protecting the poorest households against poverty, noted the Minister.

In December 2014, social assistance beneficiaries numbered 16.4-million.

Social protection expenditure will grow from R143.9-billion in 2014/15 to R176.5-billion by 2017/18.

As  of 1 April 2015,  the old age, war veterans, disability and care dependency grants will increase by R60 to R1410. The child support grant will increase from R315 to R330 while the foster care grants will increase by R30 to R860.

In consultation with the Department of Social Development  and taking into account consumer price inflation, National Treasury will review the possibility of further adjustments to grant values in October.