FACT SHEET: FUNDING THE RIGHT TO HEALTH

This 2019 fact sheet by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) analyzes funding trends and systemic inequities in South Africa's dual healthcare system. It highlights the disparity between private and public sector spending, the impact of austerity measures on health human resources, and the financial challenges facing the implementation of Universal Health Coverage through the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill.

• South Africa maintains a dual healthcare system with significant resource disparities: while only 17% of the population has private medical insurance, private sector healthcare spending is 4.2% of GDP, nearly equal to the public sector's 4.4%.
• Public health spending has been constrained by austerity budget policies, leading to a rise in unfunded commitments and unpaid bills. In 2017/18, health departments were responsible for 57% of all unpaid government bills.
• There is a severe shortage and inequitable distribution of health human resources. In the public sector, there is one government-employed doctor for every 2,457 people without medical aid, compared to one doctor for 429 to 571 patients in private healthcare. Additionally, the Treatment Action Campaign reported 38,217 unfilled posts in May 2018.
• The burden of medico-legal claims against provincial health departments has grown exponentially, increasing from R28.6 billion in 2015 to R80.4 billion in 2018, driven in part by chronic underfunding and staffing shortages.
• Health outcomes vary significantly by geography; for example, life expectancy is 64 years in the largely urban Gauteng province, but only 59 years in the mostly rural Limpopo province.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2019). FACT SHEET: FUNDING THE RIGHT TO HEALTH. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Funding-the-Right-to-Health-Fact-Sheet-min.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. FACT SHEET: FUNDING THE RIGHT TO HEALTH. 2019. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Funding-the-Right-to-Health-Fact-Sheet-min.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=FACT SHEET: FUNDING THE RIGHT TO HEALTH |date=2019 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Funding-the-Right-to-Health-Fact-Sheet-min.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2019fact, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{FACT SHEET: FUNDING THE RIGHT TO HEALTH}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2019}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Funding-the-Right-to-Health-Fact-Sheet-min.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }