This is according to a consortium of universities that gathered at the University of the Free State earlier today. The consortium, which includes the University of the Witwatersrand, University of Fort Hare, University of Pretoria, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, and the University of the Free State, says the time has come for the NHI project to be rolled out and for all South Africans to be afforded quality health services. The project, best described as a health financing system designed to pool funds to provide access to quality affordable health services for all South Africans, irrespective of their socio-economic status, is set to be implemented in phases over a 14-year period that started in 2012. The consortium, together with the national and provincial Health Department, has now joined hands to ensure that the implementation of the project and newly developed service delivery model is fast-tracked and that the province becomes the pioneer for the project’s pilot study. Health MEC, Montsheng Tsiu, has further confirmed that the current state of public health requires a collaborative effort to ensure that health services are improved…

“It is our dream come true to see the NHI project being rolled out in the province to ensure that our people benefit, even those in the periphery. The successful implementation requires specialised skills, adequate resources, and infrastructure at all facilities, and most of all, the participation of all stakeholders. We welcome the commitment demonstrated by the universities in the consortium to enhance this universal health coverage, which at some point looked like a pipeline dream,” said Tsiu.

Tsiu has further called on all health advocacy organisations to lend a helping hand, similarly to the six universities, to ensure that the government succeeds in the implementation of the project.

The UFS rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, added that the project will change the lives of many South Africans and is much needed in the country. He said through the project, universities will now support national health service delivery by assisting with the employment of graduates to provide services while they complete their statutory community service and through research.

“Universities have to play an active role in shaping the future of the country. We also have to be doing research that keeps us up to date with development in the respective disciplines, and that research is not going to mean a lot if it does not change the quality of life of the society, so we are pleased to be part of the project,” said Petersen.

He says universities will thus be offering administrative and technical support to the national department in respect of health care.

Opposition parties have nonetheless in the past years criticised the government for the project, stating that the public healthcare system in the country was heavily constrained and that the rollout of the NHI will not help much. The DA has publicly stated that the NHI will not address issues at the root of the collapsing public health sector and the NHI is not a feasible plan to fix it.

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