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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 InsuranceHow to get doctors to work outside cities

How to get doctors to work outside cities

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  • South Africa is currently producing more doctors than ever, yet doctor shortages persist in public sector hospitals and clinics, particularly in rural areas. 
  • Two things drive this dilemma. The first is that the government often doesn’t have enough money to employ more doctors. The second is that medical graduates don’t want to work in rural areas in the long term, meaning that rural hospitals struggle to attract and retain doctors even when they have the money. 
  • One way of fixing shortages in rural areas is to admit more people from rural towns into medical school. This is because people from far-flung areas are more likely to return to practise there than those who come from cities.

The unequal distribution of South Africa’s doctors isn’t limited to the public vs private sector gap. Health workers’ willingness to work in rural areas plays a role too. Most medical school graduates end up settling in urban areas.
  • Read the full script here.
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Yolanda Mdzeke is a multimedia reporter at Bhekisisa.

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Jesse Copelyn was a health journalist at Bhekisisa from April 2022 to April 2023.