17 August 2001
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentleman
Thank you for inviting me to be part of this grand occasion, I must tell you how impressed I am with what I have seen here today. This facility is really beautiful and I am sure that you are as proud of it as I am.
For me this occasion marks a return to the community that I have been very close to in the past few years. I am back home to celebrate many years of hard work in pursuit of development within this community. Previous speakers have said a lot about the history of this institution. But one thing that comes out clear in its history is that, even under most trying conditions; a community can achieve anything if it acts in unison.
When I came back from exile, I worked within the National Progressive Primary Health Care Network. During that period, we did not only seek to develop new national health policies, but we also worked closely with communities at a grassroots level, particularly in improving the lives of women and children. I worked closely with the community of Indwedwe in initiating and enhancing projects that were aimed at empowering women in this area.
Unfortunately, at that time most parts of our province, including this area, were scenes of violent clashes where many lives were lost and thousands of people were left devastated. It was difficult to imagine during those dark days that a beautiful community health centre like this could arise in this area.
However, today we come together as a community celebrating the fruits of peace and collective struggle for development. Peace and development are two things that have brought the IFP and the ANC into forming the coalition government both at a national level and in this province.
We realised as the two parties that we represent one people. We represent people who are historically disadvantaged. These are the people who were denied access to basic services like health care and education. They are the people who still become victims of many preventable diseases like cholera because of lack of access to water and proper sanitation. And these are people who voted all of us into government because they wanted a better life for their families and communities.
It is because of this unity in action for change that we are gathered here firstly as representatives of all the three spheres of government and also as leaders and members of different political parties and communities to officially open a facility that will bring about a better life to many people of Indwedwe.
One thing that we should always remember when we use this facility is that community participation is one of the central elements of the Primary Health Care. I would therefore like to encourage community leaders and elected representatives, especially the councillors, to provide leadership in the governance of health services in this area. We must empower our communities to participate in the planning and delivery of health care services in order to ensure transparency, accountability as well as rational use of health care resources. I am aware that you have an advisory clinic committee that is very active. You should keep this up, as it is the recipe for success of the Primary Health Care.
This government has gone a long way in providing access to basic health care services to our people throughout the country. I am sure as you see hundreds of community health centres and clinics being erected around the country, you have been asking yourself as to when is Indwedwe's turn going to come. As we continue to improve access to health care, we now have to focus also on improving the quality of care that is provided to our people.
One of the major challenges in improving the quality of care mainly in the rural areas is the difficulty we face in maintaining sufficient staffing levels and staff turnover. Many people with skills do not like to work in the rural areas and this causes difficulty in recruiting and keeping staff in these areas where public health services are most needed. However, we have made many efforts to address this problem. We have introduced community service that gives our young doctors, dentists and pharmacists an opportunity to work and gain experience in working with communities that desperately need their services. We have also recruited doctors from Cuba to assist while we seek permanent ways to achieve our goal of an equitable and quality health care in both urban and rural areas of this country.
During our last regular meeting with the provincial Health Ministers/MEC, we instructed the officials from our Department to look at the possibility of having a comprehensive package of incentives that can attract people to work in the rural areas. There are financial and other non-monetary incentives including the improvement of working and living conditions for our health workers in the rural areas that will be investigated and a set of proposals is to be tabled for our consideration within the near future.
I would like to say a word of encouragement to the health workers that are providing services in this new centre. We know that you often have to serve under difficult conditions. I have heard that you are working very hard and you have even won a certificate for excellent performance and the Metro's Infection Control trophy for the past three years. I congratulate you for this as it shows that the interests of your patients and the community are your main priorities.
What I always say to our health workers is that we should always remember that we are guided by the principles of Batho Pele and the Patients' Right Charter. If we make that our motto, the community will show much appreciation and return the kindness. However, if you ill-treat the community, you will reap its anger.
Likewise, patients must meet the health workers half way and ensure that they work in a safe and protected environment. The community must also treasure this facility and ensure that it is not vandalised. What has been said about the clinic committee here makes me even more proud of the community of Indwedwe.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the European Union for making this dream of a R6, 4 million Community Health Centre in Indwedwe a reality. We very much appreciate the contribution you have made in assisting us to improve the lives of this community and the community of Pholela where a similar facility has been built with your assistance. I should also reconfirm here that the Department is going to build the outstanding buildings, which include garages, a mortuary and an additional residence for the staff.
Allow me, programme director, to also talk about two communicable diseases that frequently fuel and exacerbate one another. These are Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and they pose a serious challenge to this province and our country as a whole. While we have seen an increase in national TB cure rate from 56 percent in 1996 to the current rate of more than 63%, there is still a lot that has to be done to reverse the tide of this epidemic.
KwaZulu-Natal has one of the lowest case reporting rates (51%) and there has been a low cure rate (about 40%). One of the causes of this problem is that we have not been as quick as we should be in implementing the national guidelines and Directly Observed Treatment Strategy (DOTS) to tackle TB in this province. There is a need to give serious attention to this epidemic and improve our TB control programme. Our communities need to know of the important role they need to play in this process especially in assisting those with TB to complete their medication. We must tell them that even in the presence of HIV, TB can be cured.
On HIV/AIDS, I would like to tell you that the best way of protecting yourself from HIV infection is for young people to abstain from sex for as long as possible or at least until they are ready to take responsibility for the outcomes of their sexual activities. If you have decided to be involved in a sexual relationship, please be faithful to your partner. If you cannot do the two, do not take unnecessary risks with your life - use a condom.
What is even more important is that we should support and care for those who are already infected and affected by HIV/AIDS within our families and communities. We were taught to treasure the values of Ubuntu and it is in that spirit that we should not discriminate but give support to those in need.
Once again, I would like to thank you for inviting me to celebrate this day with you and for giving me an opportunity to revisit one of the areas and communities that are very close to my heart.
Thank you
Dr Mantho Tshabalala-Msimang
Minister of Health