iejfactsheet-funding-the-right-to-health_4-c800cec1a76f34f9.pdf

This 2019 election brief by the Institute for Economic Justice and SECTION27 analyzes the funding crisis in South Africa's healthcare system, highlighting the disparity between private and public sectors and the impact of austerity measures on health outcomes and staffing.

• South Africa operates a dual healthcare system with significant resource inequality. While only 17% of the population has private medical insurance, private sector healthcare spending accounts for 4.2% of GDP, which is nearly equal to the public sector's 4.4% spend. This disparity results in health outcomes that reflect apartheid-era racial and geographical divisions.
• Public health spending has been constrained by austerity policies, leading to severe underfunding and staffing shortages. In May 2018, the Treatment Action Campaign reported 38,217 unfilled posts. Additionally, approximately 60,000 community healthcare workers are informally employed and rely on small stipends.
• Financial mismanagement and budget constraints have led to a surge in unpaid government bills and medico-legal claims. In 2017/18, health departments were responsible for 57% of all unpaid government bills. Medico-legal claims against health departments rose from R28.6 billion in 2015 to R80.4 billion in 2018.
• Healthcare access and outcomes vary significantly by geography. For instance, life expectancy in the urban Gauteng province is 64 years, compared to 59 years in the mostly rural Limpopo province. In 2017, Limpopo had 10,000 vacant posts, representing 25% of its healthcare workforce.
• The document advocates for several reforms to achieve universal healthcare, including doubling public health expenditure by 2025 through tax and private medical aid reform, filling all vacant provincial health posts, and implementing the recommendations of the Health Market Inquiry to stop profiteering by private providers.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (n.d.). iejfactsheet-funding-the-right-to-health_4-c800cec1a76f34f9.pdf. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJfactsheet-Funding-the-Right-to-Health_4.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. iejfactsheet-funding-the-right-to-health_4-c800cec1a76f34f9.pdf. n.d. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJfactsheet-Funding-the-Right-to-Health_4.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=iejfactsheet-funding-the-right-to-health_4-c800cec1a76f34f9.pdf |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJfactsheet-Funding-the-Right-to-Health_4.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjusticendiejfactsheetfundingtherighttohealth4c800cec1a76f34f9pdf, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{iejfactsheet-funding-the-right-to-health\_4-c800cec1a76f34f9.pdf}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJfactsheet-Funding-the-Right-to-Health_4.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }