What is ailing our healthcare system?

[View in browser]( [Mail & Guardian]( M&G Mornings | Mon 02 Oct   Like a number of my agemates, I was born at the hospital then known as the Joburg Gen. I remember my mother pointing out the hospital in the distance during a family outing to the Johannesburg Zoo. I was in awe. At that age, I attached a sense of wonder to a number of buildings around the city. But, given that I was born there, the Joburg Gen took on a more mystical quality. When my brother was born, only four years after me, my mother was warned against the Joburg Gen. Only a year into the New South Africa and the hospital was branded with an entirely different reputation — although my mum maintains that her second birth, this time at a private hospital, was far less comfortable. Now that many of my own friends are having babies, the choice between private and public seems to have been made up for us. If you have the option, you’d be mad to choose the latter. But most do not have the choice. And almost 30 years into democracy, the country’s public healthcare system — on which so many still rely — has been found wanting. Yesterday, the Mail & Guardian published the second instalment of The Fiscal Cliff series. It just so happens that, since we published the first articles in the series, the debate about South Africa’s fiscus has heated up. This comes as the treasury looks to inflict deeper cutbacks in the name of fiscal stability. When news of treasury’s cuts made the rounds, the Progressive Health Alliance urged that the health budget be spared, calling any further reductions “catastrophic”. There is good reason for their fear. Research shows that the health budget has come under increasing strain, stagnating in real terms, and post-pandemic cutbacks have made the situation far worse. Despite this, health and governance experts who recently spoke to Lyse Comins blame corruption and mismanagement — not a smaller budget — for the country’s public healthcare crisis. Meanwhile union members, one of whom I interviewed for the latest episode of The Fiscal Cliff podcast, have described how working conditions have deteriorated, resulting in many public healthcare workers to seek work abroad. Improving the country’s health outcomes is a key element of the National Development Plan (NDP). As we heard last week, the government is failing to achieve the NDP’s 2030 targets. Columnist Donovan E Williams writes about the treasury’s role in this failure. We hope this series gives some nuance to the fiscal consolidation debate, which I expect will only intensify in the coming months. Sarah Smit | Economics editor [@Sarah____Smit]( ADVERTISEMENT Premium [The Fiscal Cliff | SA health check: Failure diagnosed]( In this monthly series, the M&G investigates how South Africa’s fiscal policy has been shaped. The second instalment considers the health budget and why, despite growing to R254 billion a year, the health system is ailing [// Read more]( [The Fiscal Cliff | Treasury is working against the National Development Plan]( The treasury continues to underfund health and education [// Read more]( [Kusile power station]( [Ramokgopa bets on Kusile as load-shedding mitigator]( Eskom said prior to the minister’s briefing that the return of unit three was part of the reason for the weekend load-shedding suspension [// Read more]( Recommended Reads [Boks beat Tonga to edge towards World Cup quarters]( The Tongan side stayed competitive throughout the match [// Read more]( Premium [Jagersfontein class action lawsuit imminent]( Three people were killed and dozens injured a year ago when the tailings dam at the Jagersfontein diamond mine collapsed [// Read more]( Premium [Dogs sniff out succulent thieves]( Meet the dogs who are helping combat the plant poaching that serves insatiable overseas markets [// Read more]( [‘Significant progress’ during my Transnet tenure, says Portia Derby]( Derby exits amid scathing reviews from organised business and, more recently, labour [// Read more]( [Editorial: Is Ramaphosa and Manuel’s feted economic plan delayed or dead?]( With most of the NDP targets way off the mark, our fiscal path defers the NDP goals by another decade, if we are lucky, while an incapable state will spell its death [// Read more]( [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Mail & Guardian Media LTD · 25 Owl St · Braamfontein · Johannesburg, Gauteng 2001 · South Africa