Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has alluded to continued room for the private sector in healthcare financing, saying funding must be sustainable “not just for a single financial year but for generations to come”, and that the private sector should be part of the solution.
The Minister, who has previously expressed reservations about National Health Insurance (NHI) funding, did not specifically refer to the planned scheme, but called for public/private sector partnerships.
News24 reports that Godongwana has previously said he cannot budget to implement NHI “without a price tag”, and last week again appealed for innovative ideas on how to fund the system.
In his opening speech for the AU’s specialised technical committee on finance, monetary affairs, economic planning and integration, themed “Bridging Africa’s Health Financing Gap in a Changing Geo-Economic Context: Challenges and Potential Solutions”, he called for an “enabling environment for both the public and private sectors to join hands and unlock investment, and explore partnerships across the healthcare infrastructure value chain”. ….more
