“Of 696 facilities evaluated in the Office of Health Standards Compliance’s latest report, only five met 80% of the required performance standards, which include drug availability and proper infection control,” according to the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC).
Since July 2023, 10 000 healthcare workers have sought residency in Canada alone.
In cases where SA can provide care in a strained system, it is not providing the right kinds of care. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancers and diabetes, for example — remain a major cause of death in the country. From 1997 to 2018
The rate of death caused by major NCDs increased by almost 60% between 1997 and 2018.
“How we manage NCDs should be a focus of the NHI — but it requires a full recalibration of how we understand health.”