Health Minister Calls for Prevention Based System

March 10 - In an interview to Heath-e this week, the South African Health Minister, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi said that the time had come for the country to turn away from its current curative system and adopt, in its place, a health system based on prevention.

Motsoaledi said that if the ANC government hoped to give its National Health Insurance scheme any chance of success, much more emphasis had to be placed on preventative programs across the country.

"What we are doing is not sustainable in the long run," said Dr. Motsoaledi, referring to the current health system in South Africa.

"For example, the issue of antiretrovirals. We have to issue them, it's normal in every health system to do that. It's also an issue of human rights. But at this rate it's not sustainable if we are going the increase the number of people who must be on ARV's," he said. "Common sense should tell us that we need to prevent and stop this disease from spreading, otherwise it's going to become an expense to everybody."

Motsoaledi unrolled some of his preventative program plans in the interview, including infection control, school health programs, HIV prevention and immunization campaigns.

If the government bases its National Health Insurance scheme on the current situation in South African health care, using the current model, Motsoaledi agrees that it will not be affordable.

"At the moment we are aware that the public health system is not working very well, we can't hide it," he admitted. "I've been open about it. Some call it a collapse, others call it a crisis, and others say it's an emergency. But the bottom line is that we have some of the world famous hospitals like Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital and world class institutions like Charlotte Maxeke being skeletons of their former selves. At the back of that people are now looking at this National Health Insurance and they believe it is a reflection of what will happen in the NHI."