The Department of Health - The first 5 years

In line with the above, HST Update, in partnership with the Mail and Guardian, approached the leadership in the health sector in order to give them an opportunity to outline from their perspective what they consider to be the major achievements and challenges of the past 5 years. Specifically, the Director General of the Department of Health and the 9 provincial MECs were interviewed to assess achievements and challenges by the Department of Health. The Departments efforts in bringing free health care to communities through the district health system and primary health care, as well as the fight against HIV and AIDS were reflected upon. Their responses were subjected to an independent review comprising researchers and policy analysts in the health sector.

At national level the achievements include ground-breaking legislation that took on some of the strongest interest groups, such as the pharmaceutical and tobacco industries, with the aim of making medicines available more cheaply to South Africans, and minimising the devastation to healthiness associated with smoking respectively.

Although provinces seem to be on course in redirecting resources to lower levels of the system, bureaucracy and poor planning seem to retard progress with implementation.

Political will, demonstrated by the involvement of senior politicians, needs to be accompanied by practical and implementable projects needed to arrest the scourge of the AIDS pandemic.

All in all, it is a mixed scorecard, reflecting the complex nature of the task of restructuring our health services. There is however no doubt that things will never remain the same as far as the provision of health services in South Africa is concerned.