State of SA’s healthcare system demands attention

‘Do you misbehave like this at school too?” the lovely Snapdragon asked the four-year-old Egg at dinner table. “I wonder what your teacher will say if she sees your manners!”

This triggered the toddler to come out with her secret. “Teacher Judy was angry with me. It wasn’t my fault. It’s unfair! That boy kicked me first!”

We all tend to see fairness differently. Egg believes it’s unfair to treat her like she treats others. A policy which she has inherited from her dear mother, I might add.

“You must have a wonderful view from up there on your high horse, Princess,” I remarked the other day. She was furious, because she believed I was treating her … yes, you guessed it … unfairly.

Which didn’t bother me in the least. Life is essentially unfair. And if you don’t like it, change it. Which is why I frowned when I saw that the 7 April World Health Day theme this year is “Building a Fairer, Healthier World”.

If there is anyone in the world who knows unfairness when it comes to healthcare, it is the South African nation. Yesterday, when I wrote this column, Covid-19 had killed almost 53 000 South Africans.

But our vaccination programme was still well behind the target with not enough vaccines available to ramp up the tempo. Experts have calculated that 66% of the population has to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.

Only 0.3% of the population has received the jab. At the current tempo, we can only expect herd immunity in three decades. In the meantime, SA has been identified as a country where TB is a crisis.

Deputy President David Mabuza has urged Mzanzi’s men to be tested for the disease “or the well-being of South Africans will forever hang in the balance”.

And we haven’t even mentioned our Aids pandemic. The national healthcare system is in ruins. State hospitals are crippled by corruption and incompetence.

We have excellent private healthcare … for a few privileged South Africans. Our doctors are world-class, but they are leaving in droves.

Nowhere is it more important to build a fairer and healthier system than here. We dare not remain quiet about it.

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