The national Department of Health will revitalise and expand its priorities after being allocated R64.8bn for the 2026/27 financial year, said Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi last week in tabling the Budget, reports IOL.
The focus will be on three key programmes: infrastructure development, HIV prevention, and the elimination of cervical cancer, all highlighted by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address earlier this year, during which he directed they be unfolded this year.
The government has committed to tackling infrastructure at healthcare facilities in preparation for the National Health Insurance system. This will also include beefing up personnel, and systems to improve access to quality care.
Several major hospital projects were already under way countrywide, including large teaching and district hospitals at various stages of completion, signalling that the department was not starting "from ground zero".
Among the projects highlighted were new and replacement hospitals in Limpopo, the Free State, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga, with some nearing completion and others still under construction.
Motsoaledi said the government would further expand infrastructure through the Budget Facility for Infrastructure, submitting 11 bids for large-scale projects valued at more than R1bn.
The second priority focuses on HIV prevention, and the rollout of the LEN jab in June.
Motsoaledi said the introduction of new prevention tools would accelerate efforts to end HIV transmission.
“We are in a position where we dare say we can eliminate HIV/Aids as a public health threat,” he said.
The third priority is eliminating cervical cancer, a growing threat to women’s health in South Africa.
Motsoaledi warned that this remains one of the leading causes of death among women, particularly in a country with a high HIV burden.
“Cervical cancer is the second biggest killer of women after breast cancer,” he said, adding that cancer was “fast becoming our new HIV pandemic”.
He said South Africa had adopted an expanded screening approach aligned with global targets but adjusted to local conditions, given that a significant proportion of women diagnosed with cervical cancer are also infected with HIV.
“In our country, 65% of all women with cervical cancer are also HIV positive,” he noted.
Beyond the three priorities, the budget would continue to support the hiring of healthcare workers, improvement of hospital conditions, and the stabilisation of the health system “after years of austerity”.
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