National Health Insurance is the 'only option'
Vavi states SA citizens require a well-funded and well-resourced public health system.
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If the South African government's direction is free health care for all, the
only viable option is the introduction of National Health Insurance. So
says Zwelinzima Vavi, the Secretary General for Cosatu (Congress of South
African Trade Unions).
Vavi was speaking at the South African Medical Association conference in
Gauteng this week in a bid to get delegates to understand just how desperate the
situation is for most of the country's population who cannot afford basic health
care.
Vavi stressed that by introducing National Health Insurance, all citizens of
South Africa, irrespective of their financial status, would be able to gain
access to quality health care - something that is simply an impossibility at the
moment.
"To achieve a universal, comprehensive, free national health care system,
founded on the primary health care approach, requires a well-funded and
well-resourced public health system," said Vavi.
Vavi said that the problems in South Africa's health care system and the
actual standard of the mass population's health began with apartheid. "Apartheid
has had a fundamental impact on people's health and the organization of the
health system in South Africa," he said. "That legacy, despite the many
achievements in our health care system, continues to this day."
The Cosatu head blamed the Health Department for creating a market-driven
system that intentionally avoided the sick in order to generate more income for
itself. He said that the Health Department was very capable of providing free
health care for the country's population if it was not intent on turning into a
private sector.
"With 8.5% of South Africa's gross domestic product spent on health in 2005,
South Africa has enough resources to provide health care to everyone," said Vavi.
"What is required is the redistribution of these resources, from the minority of
the population to the majority."
The solution, according to Vavi, is to press for the implementation of
National Health Insurance.
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