Health Minister, Dr N C Dlamini-Zuma, today announced details of the Department of Health's programme for 1997.
Speaking at a press briefing in Cape Town, Dr Zuma said that major efforts would be made to improve facilities and further widen access to health services.
Dr Zuma said: "This year, we will be funding major programmes to upgrade health facilities, to expand health services and to make those services more accessible to the vast majority of all our people.
"The targets we have set ourselves for this year will help to consolidate the tremendous advances we have made since 1994, when this government took office.
"While we believe that a strong basis has been created for consolidating these gains, we still need to redouble our efforts in the areas of access to primary health care, disease prevention and control, health infrastructure and human resource development.
"We will be opening 272 new clinics, delivering 151 mobile clinics and upgrading another 236 clinics country-wide. This is in addition to the R10 billion hospital investment programme, in which we will be building eight new hospitals and upgrading 217 more, to repair the damage to our health infrastructure caused by decades of neglect.
"To widen access to health care, we will be recruiting another 363 qualified doctors from abroad. This recruitment drive is a short to medium term solution to our massive personnel problems in the public sector, particularly in rural hospitals. I am concerned about the loss of high quality health professionals from the public service, as this negatively impacts on our capability to deliver quality health care.
"We are however consistently reviewing our ability to improve the service conditions of all health personnel. As a way of improving access to health care we will be working at measures to reduce the cost of medicines through improved control and regulation, and we are investigating the development of mandatory health insurance coverage.
"The Integrated Nutrition Programme will be expanded and we will be addressing the needs of people with disabilities by reducing the backlog in assistive devices by 60 per cent this year.
"Our disease and prevention control initiatives will also be expanded, through the life-skills programme to raise awareness of health issues, particularly HIV/AIDS; through stepping up the immunisation campaign; and through greater control of TB.
"'Finally, we are undertaking a vigorous battle against corruption in our health services."
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A more detailed breakdown of the Health Department's programme for 1997 is as follows:
1. CLINIC BUILDING AND UPGRADING PROGRAMME
We will complete 272 clinics, deliver 151 mobiles and upgrade 326 clinics country wide. Clinic upgrading will include the addition of examination rooms, maternity units, residential units and the refurbishing of clinics.
We have already completed 186 clinics, delivered 173 mobiles and upgraded 100 more clinics since April 1994.
Coupled with this programme will be the hospital rehabilitation programme. A third of our hospital facilities need to be replaced or radically upgraded over the next ten years, at a current cost of R10 billion. building of 8 new hospitals will start this year and 217 have been earmarked for upgrading.
2. RECRUITMENT OF DOCTORS TO RURAL AREAS
To increase access to health care in under-served areas, we will recruit more doctors this year through the following bilateral greements:
a. South Africa: Cuba - 270 doctors
b. South Africa: Cim (Centre for International Migration and Development) - European Union - 50 doctors
c. South Africa: UN Volunteers - 30 doctors
This is an increase from the 209 doctors recruited through the first two programmes in 1996.
The nine provinces indicated at the start of 1997 that a total of 473 funded vacancies need to be filled urgently.
3. IMPROVING SERVICE EFFICIENCY
4. REDUCING THE COST OF MEDICINES
While 140 essential drugs have been identified for P.H.C. we plan to extend our E.D.L. to incorporate drugs for secondary and tertiary health facilities.
Greater control of unethical marketing practices and the prescription of unnecessarily costly drugs by health workers in public and private sectors will be looked at in greater detail, with the aim of reducing the price of drugs and increasing access to health care.
5. NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE AND MEDICAL AID REFORMS
A departmental working group is developing proposals concerning the financing of the private health sectors, with a focus on medical aid schemes and health insurance.
The Department is also investigating the development of mandatory health insurance coverage.
6. INTEGRATED NUTRITION PROGRAMME
As a way of contributing to reducing the prevalence of malnutrition and hunger, including micronutrient deficiency in the South African population, we will introduce the Facility-based Nutrition Component and the Community-based Nutrition Component of the Integrated Nutrition Programme.
Our school-feeding scheme should reach ± 5 million school children and a comprehensive breastfeeding policy will be finalised and launched this year.
7. DISABILITIES
About 10% of South Africans have a disability and most of them encounter discrimination and marginalisation. As a way of addressing this situation we plan to decrease the backlog in assistive devices by 60% this year.
Over the next two years 7,000 wheelchairs and 1,600 hearing aids will be provided to improve the quality of life of disabled persons, of which 60% will be supplied in 1997.
8. HIV/AIDS CAMPAIGN
The HIV/AIDS epidemic is escalating rapidly in South Africa, with the highest rates of infection being recorded among young women aged between 15 and 25 years.
We have been working closely with the Department of Education in developing a life-skills programme for this vulnerable group, which-will entail relevant information on sexuality STDs, HIV/AIDS, skills on how to relate with members of the opposite sex, peer group and most specifically parents and adults. Skills like self-assertion, decision-making to enable them to make sound choices, and opportunities to confront stereotypes and prejudices will be developed.
Preparations for a National AIDS Summit are well on course, and all role players and interested parties will be invited to participate, review our work and jointly plan strategies of taking the campaign forward.
9. IMMUNISATION CAMPAIGNS
In May and June this year we will be conducting mass immunisation of children to eliminate the last traces of polio and wage a vigorous campaign against measles. Our target for polio will be 5 million and for measles 8,5 million countrywide.
10. TUBERCULOSIS
We have formulated a comprehensive strategy to deal with the TB epidemic. The strategic plan aims to achieve an 80% TB cure rate by 1998, and will be the main focus at both national and provincial level, especially in the Western Cape.
11. REDUCING THE THEFT OF SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT
A number of measures will be effected to reduce the theft of supplies and equipment In public facilities. These will include the following:
o The general depot layout, security systems, surveillance and access control in all provincial depots will be addressed as a matter of urgency. The medical stores administration system, which has been implemented at six of the provincial medical depots to facilitate stock management and control, will be extended to more provincial depots.
o Suitably trained depot and institutional/clinic personnel will be recruited to ensure that financial losses due to wastage, breakages and theft will be kept to a minimum.
o Specific coding/marking systems to facilitate the identification on ownership of public sector drugs and medical equipment will be introduced.
CONTACT: VINCENT HLONGWANE TEL: 082 557 0978