18 August 2002
The Minister of Health Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has urged her department to come up with a plan to curb the emigration of health professionals from rural to urban areas and from South Africa to developed countries.
Tshabalala-Msimang made this announcement when she was addressing the Women's Month celebration rally at Wrenchville stadium in Kuruman in the Northern Cape on Saturday August 17.
She told the crowd gathered at the stadium that public health sector advances are dependent on health workers and professional that should work with communities on the ground to tackle various health challenges facing people especially in rural and historically underserved areas.
"Together with Health MECs, we have realized that if there is a single major threat to our overall health effort, it is the continued outward migration of key health professionals, particularly nurses, and the vast urban-rural inequity in their deployment in the country.
"We have therefore instructed the Director-General for Health to work with the private sector, nursing organizations, trade unions and other relevant bodies to conclude a clear framework for attracting and retaining nurses particularly in rural areas.
"My intention is to present and debate this framework in our regular meeting with the MECs within the next two months," said Tshabalala-Msimang.
She said a lot has been done to improve the provision of health services aimed at improving the lives of rural women. Free primary health care and antenatal services have ensured that many poor women have safe pregnancy and delivery and their children are protected from many diseases through an intensive immunisation programme.
"The most dramatic improvement for mothers has been the virtual elimination of measles. It started to disappear in about 1997 and by 2000 it was virtually gone. But we have to remain vigilant, and that is why I urge you to ensure that every child in your community is immunized against measles and other diseases. Mothers should never again have to live in terror of their children dying of measles or getting polio," said Tshabalala-Msimang.
Earlier in the day, Tshabalala-Msimang received a memorandum from a large group of women members of the Association for Community and Rural Advancement who demanded government to address a number of issues related to poverty eradication in this area.
Kuruman falls under Kgalagadi District which is one of the nodal points for the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme. Tshabalala-Msimang promised to refer the memorandum to all relevant government departments.
She said challenges facing rural women are part of issues of poverty that South Africa will be raising as critical to sustainable development during World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Issued by Ministry of Health