Chairperson

New report shows that strong partnership between African and G8 governments has delivered impressive results but gaps remain in efforts to improve health across the continent

ADDIS ABABA, 25 May 2013—African and G8 governments have made significant progress against several major commitments to improve health in Africa over the past decade, but must commit to new investments for AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.

More than 12 African heads of state and other global leaders met today and reviewed progress toward implementing transformative reforms in the AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria responses and pledged to accelerate the pace of change (increase annual domestic funding for health care, particularly AIDS, TB and malaria services).  AIDS Watch Africa (AWA), an advocacy platform for African Heads of State on AIDS, TB and Malaria convened the meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the side-lines of the African Union summit celebrating 50 years of African Unity.

Honourable Speaker
My colleague the Deputy Minister of Health
MECs for Health present
The Chairperson and members of the Health Portfolio Committee
Honourable Members of Parliament
Invited Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

Honourable Speaker, it is now well documented and generally understood that South Africa faces a quadruple burden of disease. Many other countries are faced only with a double burden.

These four are:

Chairperson of the Independent Physicians Association, Morgan Chetty, says government needs to get all health workers on board for the National Health Insurance (NHI) to be a success.

Currently, the government is contracting general practitioners to render services to pilot sites as part of the NHI.Chetty was speaking at a Health Summit held in Kempton Park on the East Rand.

Chetty says: “Primary health care cannot be delivered by its definition, just by a doctor. It's got to be implemented by a total team. We need to contract an entire team off all the role-players in the team that the ethos is understood, the definitive end points are understood and we all do this in a compliment.”

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Since 2010 a total of 175 927 men were circumcised. Of these, 35 989 were circumcised using the Tara KLamp (TK) and there had been no problems, provincial health minister Sibongiseni Dhlomo told reporters in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday.

He was responding to the TAC's asking the public protector to investigate the TK's procurement and ongoing use.

Statement by KZN Health MEC, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo in response to accusations by the Treatment Action Campaign on the procedures followed in the implementation of the Medical Male Circumcisions

Representatives of all Media Houses

Colleagues, I must indicate that we are highly concerned that the TAC being a staked holder in the fight against the spread of HIV and AIDS has gone out makes unfounded statements about procedures of MMC that they have little knowledge on. 

High consultation fees for doctors have come under the spotlight following the reintroduction of tariff guidelines.

Though the guideline tariffs were published last week by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), the outcry by the SA medical fraternity reached fever pitch yesterday.

Dr Marmol Stoltz, who runs two private practices in Cape Town, said that doctors were not “the primary cost drivers” in the private healthcare.

She said that the primary cost drivers were private hospitals, brokers and medical aid administrations.

“Did you know that the payout to brokers a year is more than the payout to GPs?” said Stoltz

A roadmap adopted today by African Heads of State and Government charts a new course for the continent’s responses to AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. Developed by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency), with support from UNAIDS, the Roadmap on Shared Responsibility and Global Solidarity was endorsed at the 19th Summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

For the second year in a row, an additional 1.1 million people in sub-Saharan Africa received antiretroviral therapy, reaching a total of 6.2 million people across the region in 2011. In less than a decade, access to HIV treatment in sub-Saharan Africa has increased more than 100-fold.

“I am impressed with the progress that Africa has achieved on AIDS, but much remains to be done,” said Dr Thomas Yayi Boni, Chairperson of African Union and President of Benin. “As chairperson of the African Union, I am working closely with African leaders and partners to deliver more sustainable and African owned responses.”