“Amidst a backdrop of global turmoil and domestic uncertainty, SA stands at a critical crossroad, with its healthcare system facing a crisis that demands immediate and decisive action, wrote Dumani Kula (CEO of the Busamed private hospital group) in BusinessTimes (3 August 2025).
While the public healthcare system are grappling with significant backlogs, the private healthcare system is becoming “a luxury that fewer can afford”.
“The result is two parallel systems, both buckling under the pressure and failing to provide comprehensive care for millions.
Implementing the NHI Act is driven by a noble goal, but while we build consensus and navigate the complexities of its implementation, we cannot afford to wait, wrote Kula.
He (like many other) suggests that the solution lies in strategic partnerships between the public and private sector that will result in extended life-saving private care to uninsured individuals.
“We do not have to wait for future policy to be perfected; we already have the power and the means to deliver better health outcomes for all. South Africans should not have to wait for future-dated policy interventions to get the care they desperately need now.”