Acting President Paul Mashatile has signed the Second Presidential Health Compact, which had previously been delayed by a week amid opposition to the document’s endorsement of the National Healthcare Insurance (NHI) Act.
Deputy President Mashatile signed the Health Compact in the absence of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is currently on sick leave as he recovers from an eye infection.
In a speech at the official signing ceremony, Mashatile said that involving the private sector, labour and civil society would be key to ending inequality in healthcare.
“The private sector has a crucial role to play in strengthening health systems in South Africa.
“Our experience with Covid19 showed how we could deepen private-public partnerships.
“With greater collaboration, the resources and capabilities of both the public and the private sectors can be brought to bear, to serve those who need healthcare the most,” Mashatile said.
“With the NHI act now signed into law, it is even more urgent that we work together, as we implement the NHI we will build on lessons learned to streamline standards, and ensure quality of care, whether it is rendered at a public or private facility.
“We need diverse expertise as we work towards strengthening health systems and building their resilience for the future.
“We need to share resources to ensure that programmes are implemented,” Mashatile added.
Numerous co-signatories of the Compact included Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande and various representatives of labour and health organisations.
However organisations such as the South African Medical Association (SAMA), SA Health Professionals Collaboration (SAHPC) and Business Unity SA (BUSA) have reportedly refused to sign the Compact due to their opposition to the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act.
BUSA said in a statement last week that it would not sign the President’s Health Compact as it could not support a policy that explicitly endorses the NHI Act in its current form.
“While everybody supports universal health coverage, there are ways to achieve it other than implementing an unaffordable, unworkable and unconstitutional NHI, which is essentially a funding model that is impractical, inequitable, and not feasible in the South African context,” said BUSA chief executive Cas Coovadia.
“Furthermore, it is putting the cart before the horse to sign and agree to a compact when structured, formal discussions and engagement with government on the NHI, as a key pillar of universal health coverage, still need to take place,” Coovadia added.
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