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The National Health Insurance (NHI), for which membership will be compulsory, is a funding scheme that aims to address healthcare inequity in South Africa. The scheme will do this by creating a fund that the government will use to buy healthcare services at set fees from accredited public and private health providers. The NHI has not yet been legislated — the health department is hoping to have the NHI Bill approved by parliament by the end of 2022.

HomeSpecial ReportsNational Health InsuranceMabuza: ‘The NHI must not negate private health schemes for those who...

Mabuza: ‘The NHI must not negate private health schemes for those who desire them’

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Speaking on behalf of President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President David Mabuza reiterates the South African government’s commitment to universal healthcare, known as the National Health Insurance (NHI). In a speech delivered at the Presidential Health Summit Friday, he made important comments regarding the role of the private sector in the NHI, which will be phased in from 2019, Mabuza explained.

“We need one health system of all our people… in which health services are provided by both the private and public services according to improved standards of care, and that does not negate the existence of private health schemes for those who desire [them].”

Mabuza also launched the country’s latest wellness campaign, called Cheka Impilo. As part of the campaign, the country will seek to:

  • Put two-million more people on antiretrovirals 
  • Diagnose and treat 80 000 more people with TB
  • Identify and treat thousands more with diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer

Read the full speech below:

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