National House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders supports implementation of NHI

The National House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders (NHTKL) says it fully supports the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI).

Leaders thanked Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and his department for their efforts to make quality healthcare accessible to everyone, “not just the rich or working”.

“Whereas private facilities have the luxury of remaining untapped until a patient who can afford to pay needs the service, government agencies could use funds currently funneled to the private sector to purchase more life-saving equipment, hiring more medical personnel and building more facilities. , which will alleviate much of the current public health burden,” NHTKL said in a statement.

NHTKL released the statement after a two-day meeting with the government led by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisha, which ended on Sunday.

Motsoaledi spoke at NHI, highlighting the benefits of universal access to healthcare for the wider population.

The House recognized that South Africa remains a highly unequal society. As the highest officially recognized body of traditional leadership, representing the 886 traditional leaders who govern more than 25 million South Africans living in traditional communities, the NHTCL said they are “unapologetically supportive of the people”.

This is the argument the House has made for compliance with progressive legislative imperatives such as the NHI.

The House said it had reviewed Motsoaledi’s detailed presentation, which outlined the challenges facing the health sector against the backdrop of international realities and best practices.

“While we recognize the shortcomings associated with issues such as corruption, we are acutely aware that making quality healthcare a reality for the general population will remain a pipe dream if 51% of available resources continue to serve only 14% of the population. What about the right to quality healthcare for the marginalized 86% of the population?”

The House of Representatives called the statistics “alarming.”

“While we are not against medical products, we recognize that they are designed primarily for commercial gain and to maximize profits rather than to make quality health care accessible. The fact that medical devices can determine how reasonable a demand they can satisfy is a testament to this fact.”

The House of Representatives said it believes that universal access to health care is sacred and that the status quo cannot remain unchallenged.

“While there is clear misunderstanding about the meaning and intentions of the NHI, the question is whether South Africa can afford to use it as a weapon to try to prevent its implementation, both by the House of Representatives and on behalf of the vast majority that is disadvantaged by “With the current voluntary health care system we have to ask: can South Africa afford not to implement the NHI?”

READ | National health insurance: everything you need to know. – SAnews.gov.za