Durban — Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi visited Durban to address medical doctors, public health experts from various sectors and medical students about the state of healthcare in South Africa on Saturday.
Motsoaledi delivered a keynote address and presided over an award-giving ceremony at the conference organised by KwaZulu-Natal Doctors Healthcare Institute (KZNDHC).
The talk focused on various aspects of healthcare, including the health priorities for the country and the National Health Insurance (NHI).
In an interview with the SABC, Motsoaledi said there is money to fund the National Health Insurance, and that it is just a case of where it is distributed.
“Fifty-one percent of those funds go towards 14% of the population, which leaves 49% of funds for 86% of the population. That is gross inequality,” Motsoaledi said.
He added that the department must put systems in place to tackle corruption and maladministration - even in the private sector. He said nobody talks about R28 billion in that private sector system because it benefits the rich.
Earlier, Motsoaledi visited Pretoria to address the official launch of the South African Medical Students Union (SAMSU), a student wing of the South African Medical Association Trade Union (SAMATU) at Sefako Makgatho Health Science University, North of Pretoria.
Kwazulu-Natal Doctors Healthcare Coalition Ltd chairperson Professor Morgan Chetty shared a presentation titled “The Future of Healthcare”. In the presentation, Chetty said the focus should be less on responding to illness, but more on anticipating them.
“In the face of increasing longevity and the rise of chronic diseases in later life, shifting from curative to preventive care will become vital for healthcare systems,” Chetty said.
Benefits of preventive health:
- Powerful tool to take charge of our well-being and invest in our future.
- Promotes health equity and addresses disparities.
- Reduces burden of disease; enhances quality of life, alleviates financial stress on the health system.
Chetty said the target was to concentrate resources on populations at risk rather than adopting broad strategies.
“The future of healthcare that we envision in 2040, will be a world apart from what we have now. Digital transformation will drive much of the change and the goal to revolutionise healthcare by combining genetic analysis with lifestyle; data analytics and AI,” Chetty said.
Chetty said this goal will provide insight into human health on an unprecedented scale.
He said preventive care leads to targeted interventions that improve the health outcomes for specific populations and address health inequity and reduction of health disparities; and that the long term benefits will help with improvement of overall population health and reduction of chronic disease burden.
“Strengthening healthcare systems needs to be more than just rebuilding post-pandemic. It is about building new systems that will ensure functionality and sustainability into the future,” Chetty said.
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