Deputy President David Mabuza to address the Presidential Health Summit

Deputy President David Mabuza will lead the government delegation to the two-day Presidential Health Summit that will be convened on Friday and Saturday, 19 and 20 October 2018 at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, Gauteng.
 
The Deputy President will address the Summit plenary at 11h00, on Friday 19 October as well as the closing session on Saturday, 20 October 2018.
 
The Presidential Health Summit will bring together key stakeholders from various constituencies in the health sector, to deliberate and propose solutions to address the challenges facing the South African health system. Delegates will work towards strengthening the health system to ensure that it provides access to quality health services for all in line with the principles of universal health coverage through an inclusive process.
 
South Africa has a two-tiered health system that consists of the public and private sectors. The current structure of the health system is significantly different from the apartheid era one which had 14 public sector health departments serving different ethnic and population groups.
 
An additional significant change is the private sector which grew from being a complementary service provider in the 1960s to becoming a significant source of funding and delivery of healthcare from the year 2000. While there have been major achievements in several areas, some areas remain unattended to, leading to a characterisation of the health system as being in a crisis. These challenges relate to both the private and public sectors.
 
The Presidential Health Summit follows a Consultative Meeting held earlier this year, on the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, with a particular focus on the recently gazetted National Health Insurance Bill and the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill, where the President reiterated the commitment of the South African Government to strengthening the health system, including through the progressive implementation of NHI.
 
The Summit will be used as a platform to further explore the issues and proposed solutions raised at the consultative meeting.
 
Details of the summit are as follows:
 
Day 1: Friday, 19 October 2018
Time: 08:30 – 17:00
Venue: Birchwood Conference Centre
 
Day 2: Saturday 20 October 2018
Time: 08:00 – 16:30
Venue: Birchwood Conference Centre
 
NB: Media accreditation closed on 17 October 2018, only accredited media will be allowed to cover the event. Some of the sessions may be closed to the media. 
 
Collection of accreditation cards is as follows:

Date: Thursday, 18 October 2018
Time: 12h00 – 20h00
Venue: Birchwood Conference Center

NB: Members of the media are advised to collect the cards in person and to bring along their ID or Passport documents and press cards.
 
For more information on media accreditation contact:
Hlomani Baloyi on 083 276 1295 or Howard Kgoa on 079 876 9247
 

Media enquiries: Khusela Diko, Spokesperson to the President, on 072 854 5707 / Popo Maja (Department of Health) on 072 585 3219

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria