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<pre>SAFM and Workers World Media Productions, drawing on input from the
Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa
(EQUINET), will be broadcasting a live show on Wednesday 2 September 2009
just after the 10am news on SAFM, on health financing in South Africa,
with a focus on the proposed National Health Insurance.
The show will cover the following:
<b>*Part 1 *</b>
Health care financing in South Africa is inadequate, and in recent
years we have been moving away from achieving the Abuja target of 15%
government funding for health care. This has resulted in numerous crises
in the public health sector, and most South Africans (about 41 million)
are unable to access decent, adequate health care, as enshrined in our
constitution. South Africans that do access decent, adequate health care
primarily do so through private funding (typically private health
insurance schemes), but even in this sector, costs are spiralling and
the package of benefits on offer is declining.
<b>*Part 2*</b>
To increase public health funding in South Africa, the government has
proposed the introduction of a National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. A
recent national household survey found that 71% of medical scheme
members were willing to join a publicly supported health insurance
scheme if their monthly contribution was less than for current medical
schemes. The NHI has been proposed to create a mechanism to level the
playing field and create equitable distribution of resources resulting
in high quality of health services for all the people. Universal access
to a basic package of services for both the rich and poor will be
achieved by the NHI and the costs of health care for poor and middle
class South Africans will decrease./
Please listen into the show, and consider phoning in to make comments -
the number is 0891104207. You can listen to SAFM at
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://antbiome-jhb01.antfarm.co.za/sabc/player.asp?id=9">http://antbiome-jhb01.antfarm.co.za/sabc/player.asp?id=9</a>
PLEASE advertise widely.
___________________________________________________________________________________
EQUINET, the Regional Network on Equity in Health in Southern Africa, is
a network of professionals, civil society members, policy makers, state
officials and others within the region who have come together as an
equity catalyst, to promote and realise shared values of equity and
social justice in health. For more information on EQUINET please see our
website at: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.equinetafrica.org">http://www.equinetafrica.org</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://www.equinetafrica.org/"><http://www.equinetafrica.org/></a>
This programme draws on the fair financing theme of work in EQUINET
co-ordinated by University of Cape Town Health Economics Unit.
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