By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa during the State of the Nation Address, has indicated that he will soon sign the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill into law.
Ramaphosa joked that he was “looking for a pen” to sign the NHI into law after it was recently passed through parliament.
The NHI aims to introduce universal healthcare, with the state acting as the single buyer of medical products for the population, eliminating all private healthcare outside of voluntary treatments.
“We plan to incrementally implement the NHI, dealing with issues like health system financing, the health workforce, medical products, vaccines and technologies, and health information systems,” said Ramaphosa.
The Bill has been vehemently opposed by those in the healthcare sector, doctors, business leaders and even parliament’s own legal team.
There have been question marks over how the scheme will be funded, with fears that cash-strapped South Africans will have to pay more tax.
Ramaphosa said the State is working tirelessly to improve both healthcare quality and access equality, despite the country’s health system having a significant impact on people’s lives.
In addition, he said South Africans are living longer than ever before. Life expectancy has increased from 54 in 2003 to 65 years in 2023.
“The World Health Organisation [Director-General] says it is a phenomenal development,” he said.
Meanwhile, the country’s maternal and infant deaths have declined dramatically.
“We have built more hospitals and clinics, especially in poor areas, providing better quality care to more South Africans.”
He touched on the Limpopo Academic Hospital in Polokwane, which is currently under construction.
The hospital promises to be a state-of-the-art establishment and will be one of the five flagship academic health institutions around the country.
Equipped with advanced medical technology, the hospital will offer cutting-edge diagnostic procedures and innovative treatments.
“I had anecdotally a good representation of how our healthcare system has been improving. When the ANC held its birthday anniversary there was an accident where five people passed away and scores were injured and were taken to hospitals in Mpumalanga and Limpopo. I went to see some of them and when they were asked: ‘Don’t you want to be moved to private hospitals?”… Many of them said: ‘No, we’re well looked after here’.”
He also cited the sixth South African HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behaviour and Communication Survey results, which found that 95% of people diagnosed with HIV know their status, 79% of those receive antiretroviral treatment, and 93% of those are virally suppressed.