Health spending to grow by 10%

This was announced by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, delivering his Budget Speech to a joint sitting of Parliament on Wednesday.

The minister allocated R75.5 billion of this year's budget towards the Health Department, saying that the hospital revitalisation programme was targeted for additional allocations, and the conditional grants for HIV and AIDS will increase.

He also prioritised tertiary health services.

Last year, the programme received a further R1 billion allocation than the previous year, which took total spending to R6.8 billion over the next three years.

Programmes for HIV and AIDS, hospitals and tertiary services, Multi Drug Resistant and Extreme Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (TB), are to receive an additional R6.7 billion, said the minister during the Budget Speech.

On implementing the Apex Priorities, President Thabo Mbeki said government will speed up it advance towards the achievement of the goal of health care for all.

"We also aim during the course of this year to reduce TB defaulter rates from 10% to 7%, train over 3000 health personnel in the management of this disease and ensure that all multi-drug resistant and extreme drug resistant TB patients receive treatment,” said the President.

In 2007, government increased the funds allocated for NGOs working in the field of HIV and AIDS and TB by R6 million.

Minister Manuel further announced that allocations to provinces will amount to R238 billion in 2008/09 and the increase over baseline for the next three years amounts to R46 billion to provide for improvements in education, health, welfare and housing programmes.

He called on provincial legislatures and the public to be vigilant and ensure that priorities were held dearly, especially education and health are funded adequately.

“Improving the quality of services for which responsibility is shared concurrently between national and provincial government presents particular challenges.

“In some instances, provincial budgets do not always reflect national priorities, while national departments sometimes introduce priorities that are not well costed,” said Manuel.

Article published courtesy of BuaNews