![]() Comorbidities are a risk factor for COVID-19. The biggest lesson that’s been learned from COVID-19 is that if there is poor health utilisation at the lower levels, people are at increased risk of severe illness and death due to COVID-19. There’s a massive opportunity to reform the system. Thirdly, the way the system is funded perpetuates inequality. Secondly, the vast majority of people actually don’t know their health status which delays access to care. What has the pandemic exposed about South Africa’s healthcare system?įirstly, South Africa’s biggest problem is that the health needs of its people exceeds capacity. He shares with The Conversation Africa how the gaps may be plugged. Russell Rensburg is the director of the Rural Health Advocacy Project, which champions equitable access to quality healthcare for the country’s rural communities. But there are many unanswered questions about how exactly this scheme will work and many doubts about it. These services would then be delivered at private and public facilities. The proposal was to provide universal healthcare by buying services from health professionals through a National Health Insurance Fund. To balance the scales, the government tabled the National Health Insurance Scheme. The public sector is underfunded while most South Africans can’t afford the exorbitant cost of private care. The private sector is largely funded through individual contributions to medical aid schemes or health insurance, and serves around 27% of the population. The public sector is state-funded and caters to the majority – 71% – of the population. South Africa has a two-tiered, and highly unequal, healthcare system.
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