Significant progress has been made in increasing life expectancy in South Africa, according to the 2012/13 Budget tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.
The 2012 Estimates of National Expenditure says this has been achieved through a decrease in child and maternal mortality rates; and improvements in combating HIV, Aids, sexually-transmitted infections and tuberculosis.
According to the document, the health department will now focus on infrastructure, human resources, improving the quality of care, re-engineering service delivery towards primary health care, and curtailing exorbitant health care costs.
These measures should have a significant impact on the entire health sector and not only the public sector.
The department has been allocated R121 billion in 2012/13, up from R113 billion in 2011.
The allocation to health makes up about 12.2% of the R1.06 trillion budget.
Tabling the budget in the National Assembly, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said medium-term priorities in health spending included hospital infrastructure, the comprehensive HIV and Aids treatment and prevention programme and expanding health professional training. “Progress in these areas will strengthen the public health system, paving the way for the introduction of national health insurance,” he said, adding that the health sector had been allocated an additional R12.3 billion over the next three years.
Gordhan said R1 billion of the extra money was for national health insurance pilot projects and increasing primary health care visits; R450 million was to upgrade about 30 nursing colleges; while a further R426 million would go towards rebuilding five major tertiary hospitals.
An extra R968 million was available over the medium term for the provision of antiretroviral treatment at the CD4 threshold of 350.
According to figures released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) last year, life expectancy in South Africa is 54 years, down from 56 at the start of the century. Female life expectancy dropped from 59 years to 55.
According to the World Bank, the infant mortality rate was 43 deaths per 1000 live births last year, compared with 62 in 2004.
Sapa
’Significant progress’ in increasing life expectancy
Significant progress has been made in increasing life expectancy in South Africa, according to the 2012/13 Budget tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.
The 2012 Estimates of National Expenditure says this has been achieved through a decrease in child and maternal mortality rates; and improvements in combating HIV, Aids, sexually-transmitted infections and tuberculosis.
According to the document, the health department will now focus on infrastructure, human resources, improving the quality of care, re-engineering service delivery towards primary health care, and curtailing exorbitant health care costs.
These measures should have a significant impact on the entire health sector and not only the public sector.
The department has been allocated R121 billion in 2012/13, up from R113 billion in 2011.
The allocation to health makes up about 12.2% of the R1.06 trillion budget.
Tabling the budget in the National Assembly, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said medium-term priorities in health spending included hospital infrastructure, the comprehensive HIV and Aids treatment and prevention programme and expanding health professional training. “Progress in these areas will strengthen the public health system, paving the way for the introduction of national health insurance,” he said, adding that the health sector had been allocated an additional R12.3 billion over the next three years.
Gordhan said R1 billion of the extra money was for national health insurance pilot projects and increasing primary health care visits; R450 million was to upgrade about 30 nursing colleges; while a further R426 million would go towards rebuilding five major tertiary hospitals.
An extra R968 million was available over the medium term for the provision of antiretroviral treatment at the CD4 threshold of 350.
According to figures released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) last year, life expectancy in South Africa is 54 years, down from 56 at the start of the century. Female life expectancy dropped from 59 years to 55.
According to the World Bank, the infant mortality rate was 43 deaths per 1000 live births last year, compared with 62 in 2004.
Sapa
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