Reading the Auditor General’s report 2018-19 is not the way to finish off a week. It is a dismal tale of woe which adds another distressing layer to the state capture saga. What is truly distressing is that this information is in plain sight and very little is done from one year to the next. The Citizens version candidly spells it out: “overall audit outcomes take a turn for the worse over five years.” For me, it is much clearer that the boffins’ version of the report which sugar coats the message as “audit outcomes regressed since 2014/15.”
Provincial departments of health are in a bad state and need urgent intervention to prevent collapse. An exception is the Western Cape.
Serious weaknesses in the financial management of national & provincial government unaddressed in the last five years. (Section 4)
The quality of the performance reports slightly regressed since 2014/15 from 66% to 62% (auditees publishing credible reports).
Little improvement on key government programmes according to the National Development Plan Section 6 district health services (HIV/AIDS, TB &maternal & child health) box below water infrastructure development, housing development finance, school infrastructure delivery expanded public works programme.
72% of the auditees materially did not comply with legislation similar to the previous year & slightly higher than the 70% in 2014/15.
What does this mean for National Health Insurance Bill and sweeping changes needed for the financing of health care? The National Department of Health is not among those that received a clean (unqualified) audit.
Reading the Auditor General’s report 2018-19 is not the way to finish off a week. It is a dismal tale of woe which adds another distressing layer to the state capture saga. What is truly distressing is that this information is in plain sight and very little is done from one year to the next. The Citizens version candidly spells it out: “overall audit outcomes take a turn for the worse over five years.” For me, it is much clearer that the boffins’ version of the report which sugar coats the message as “audit outcomes regressed since 2014/15.”
Provincial departments of health are in a bad state and need urgent intervention to prevent collapse. An exception is the Western Cape.
Serious weaknesses in the financial management of national & provincial government unaddressed in the last five years. (Section 4)
The quality of the performance reports slightly regressed since 2014/15 from 66% to 62% (auditees publishing credible reports).
Little improvement on key government programmes according to the National Development Plan Section 6 district health services (HIV/AIDS, TB &maternal & child health) box below water infrastructure development, housing development finance, school infrastructure delivery expanded public works programme.
72% of the auditees materially did not comply with legislation similar to the previous year & slightly higher than the 70% in 2014/15.
What does this mean for National Health Insurance Bill and sweeping changes needed for the financing of health care? The National Department of Health is not among those that received a clean (unqualified) audit.
Minister in the
Presidency Jackson Mthembu says South Africa will continue working to improve
access to reproductive health care services.
Speaking at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which is currently underway in Nairobi, Kenya, Mthembu said the newly completed five-year plan for the country’s 6th democratic administration affirmed that South Africa will in the next five years continue to improve access to reproductive health services, including targeting adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights in order to address pregnancies and risky behaviour.
The plan also
includes upscaling existing campaigns and programmes on new HIV infections
among youth, women and persons with disabilities and develop targeted programme
on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, including gender
mainstreaming, youth and disability issues in programmes, and addressing
teenage pregnancies.
Mthembu said
South Africa will strive to further reduce child and maternal mortality and to
improve access to reproductive health services and anti-retroviral treatment.
Highlighting some of the country’s interventions in ensuring access to quality health services, Mthembu said the country is currently piloting the National Health Insurance (NHI) in order to enhance universal access to quality health care as well as to bridge the quality gaps that exist in the private and public sectors.
“South Africa
has also embraced the importance of extending free dignity packs to poor women
and girls with a view to improve women’s reproductive health and contribute to
the retention of girl children in schools who often miss school during their
cycle.
“We are
confident that these interventions will ensure that we continue to place people
at the centre of our developmental agenda,” Mthembu said.
He said South
Africa continues to commit itself to tackling the challenges identified for the
2019 Nairobi Summit on #ICPD25.
The ICPD
Programme of Action commitments are centred around achieving zero unmet needs
for family planning information and services; zero preventable maternal deaths;
zero sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and
girls referred to as Ukuthwalwa; and providing detail for implementing second
phase of the democratic transition.
Reproductive
health care programmes
South Africa has also expanded reproductive health care through various programmes such as the Integrated School Health Programme which focuses on addressing both the immediate health problems of learners, including barriers to teaching and learning as well as implementing interventions that can promote their health and well-being during childhood and beyond.
The National Department of Health has introduced programmes such as B-Wise – a young person’s interactive cell phone health platform to empower adolescents and youth to make the right choices based on accurate information; and She Conquers Campaign – A youth-led campaign which will run for 3-years collaborating with government, NGOs, business, and civil society to address the major issues that adolescent girls and young women face in South Africa today.
South Africa has
over the last 25 years embarked on a number of legislative and policy
interventions which focus on the sexual health and wellbeing of young people,
as well as providing for women to choose a contraceptive method that they
prefer. The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act which was passed in 1996 has
ensured deaths from unsafe abortion has declined by more than 90%. Access to
Primary Health Care Services measured in terms of visits per annum, increased
from some 67 million in 1998 to over 128 million in March 2018. Furthermore,
the total numbers of new HIV infections declined from 270 000 in 2016 to 231
000 in 2018.
South Africa is currently also in the process of decriminalising sex work to ensure that the sex work industry is regulated and that women are protected.
An NCDs concept note, that is set to inform the expired national NCDs policy, is up for comment following a stakeholder consultation in April 2019.
Its purpose is to frame and inform South African NCDs policy for the next 5 years. It is the first policy developed in the Sustainable Development era (2015-2030).
Sustainable development goal (SDG) 3 = health. Target SDG3.t is to reduce early NCDs deaths by 1/3 by 2030
At the stakeholder meeting, NCDs civil society participation was limited at the stakeholder consultation due to 5 days notice. A Zoom connection was supplied but not audible. The link of an audio recording of the meeting is available here. Duration 2 hours.
WHO consultant Melvyn Freeman developed and presented concept noted. He the former Chief Director, NCDs at the South Africa National Department of Health.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_accordion][vc_tta_section title=”Vote 16 Health 2018″ tab_id=”1554818062682-2a36784f-5eac”][vc_column_text]Provide leadership and coordination of health services to promote the health of all people in South Africa
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