South African Healthcare System Analysis
Added on 2020-02-24
14 Pages3543 Words118 Views
Disease and DisordersPublic and Global HealthHealthcare and ResearchPolitical Science
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COMPARATIVE HEALTH1Comparative Health: South AfricaNameCourseInstitutionLecturerDate
COMPARATIVE HEALTH2IntroductionThe health care system of a nation is considered one of the most essential componentsand it represents the wellbeing of a nation as whole. Health care is considered a basic humanright that should be accorded to people across all parts of the globe. Access of health careservices is important in ensuring the efficient provision of basic healthcare services. Generally,health care systems are structured with a prime objective to deliver treatment of identifiedhealthcare problems. These services mostly run on taxes paid by citizens since they are run bythe state. Although most of healthcare systems are different, they share mutual objectives, resultsand structures that categorize them with the mutual objectives. Since the end of apartheid inSouth Africa, 1994, there have been numerous reforms that have been put in place in order toensure that there is a concrete health care system in the country (Gabriel & Andre, 2016). Hasthis been achieved? The present paper aims at describing the role of South Africa’s governmentas well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the efficient delivery of health care. Inaddition, the paper evaluates South Africa’s health system performance; health policies andinitiatives and future health system reforms.History of South Africa’s Health Care SystemThe first hospice in South Africa was an impermanent marquee that was constructed atthe Cape of Good Hope in 1652, to treat the sick sailors of the Dutch East India Company whosuffered from scurvy and typhoid. The construction of a permanent hospital was finalized in1659 (Gabriel & Andre, 2016). Originally, recuperating soldiers delivered to others any care theyafforded until around 1700 when the first Dutch matron, commonly referred to as Binnenmoederand a male nurse (Siekenvader) were employed to keep the hospital clean as well as to overseebedside assistants.
COMPARATIVE HEALTH3The organization subsequently appointed qualified midwives from Holland, who assumedmidwifery duties and trained local women who were interested to become midwives. Theapprentices included colored and Malay slaves. In 1807, more infirmaries were constructed inKing Williamstown, Grahamstown, Queenstown and Port Elizabeth due to rising need ofhealthcare in the region. Later on, missionary nurses arrived in the region and established morehospitals. These nurses also trained local nurses and lay the foundation of nursing in SouthAfrica. World War 1 greatly affected the provision of healthcare in South Africa. In 1902, thethen government introduced formal training of black nurses at Lovedale. In 1912, the military ofSouth Africa introduced military nursing in the Defence Act. The first nursing journal, referredto as the South African Nursing Record was published in the year 1913 and in 1914, The SouthAfrican Trained Nurses’ Association was founded. The Nursing Act was propagated in the year1944.The history of South Africa is infused with discernment on the basis of gender and race.The nation’s infrastructure was influenced by the ferocious suppression of the aboriginal people,seizure of their natural resources and land, and the use of undue laws to force the blacks to workfor minimum wages to produce wealth for the minority, the whites (Beck, 2014, n.p.) SouthAfrica is also characterized by political resistance, which ended in 1994 after democracy wonagainst discrimination (Hodes, 2015, p.716). South Africa’s history has had a significant impacton the health of the citizens and the present health policies and services. Before 1994, economic,political and land constraint policies divided the society on the basis of gender, age-basedhierarchies and genders, greatly affecting the structure of social life, access to basic healthresources and services (Coovadia et al., 2009, p.835). After 1994, the democratic governmentwas determined to improve the uneven healthcare system that was adopted from the apartheid
COMPARATIVE HEALTH4into a single National Health System based on equality and availability to all devoiddiscrimination. The government made significant advancement made towards the formation of aPrimary Health Care System (PHCS) to deliver health care to several areas that had beenneglected previously within a District Health Care framework (Van den Heever, 2016, p.1423).Ever since 1994, the government has established and enhanced more than 1600 clinics across thenation. The government also put in place legislations such as National Health Act which havesince transformed the health system of South Africa into a non-discriminatory unit. Role of Government in Health System Delivery, Organization and EfficiencyThe government of South Africa government plays a vital role in ensuring that all thecitizens access efficient health services. Health care services in the country fluctuates from thebasic prime health care that is provided free by the government, to specialized, high-technologyservices that are offered by the public and private sectors. The roles include:Provision of expenditureThe government of South Africa provides approximately 40% of all expenses needed in thehealth sector. The largest part of the health sector expenditure is drawn from the nationaltreasury. In 2012/2013 budget, the government released over R120 billion in a bid to enhanceand strengthen the health of the public before the implementation of the National HealthInsurance Scheme (Paruk et al., 2014, p.468). In 2011, around 8.3% of the Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) was spent in improving the health sector, well above the 5% endorsed by theWorld Health Organization. Provision of National, provincial and local health services
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