The Situation in Brief
Since the democratic Constitution was adopted in 1996, the health care system in South Africa has concentrated on increasing access to primary health care services, but some groups of people receive care that differs greatly in quality from the care offered to others.
Improvements in South Africa’s public health 
system have been challenged by two major obstacles: the AIDS pandemic that threatens to overwhelm primary care and hospital services, and a shortage of appropriately trained personnel to deliver health care services. Atlantic believes that to ensure access to high-quality care, the South African health care system requires an increase in the number of well-trained and skilled health professionals, especially at the local level, as well as systems and infrastructure to address local health challenges. We also seek to empower the individuals and groups who suffer from inequities in health services and health outcomes to advocate for themselves and others.
Population Health Programme Goals
- Strengthen the primary health care system by improving the management and service-delivery capacity at the district level, especially in rural regions
- Support advocacy on primary health care access and quality
- Support the human resource needs of the primary care system, including primary care doctors, physician assistants, nurses, midwives, social workers and community public health workers, including support for the implementation of international protocols prohibiting recruitment of health professionals from developing countries
- Collaborate with appropriate government agencies to link nursing-related grantmaking more closely with rural development projects
- Support targeted efforts to link secondary education to nursing education
- Establish and support an independent policy institute with a mission of developing and critiquing health policy in South Africa
Population Health Resources
- Department of Health, www.doh.gov.za
- Health Systems Trust, www.hst.org.za
- Health-e, www.health-e.org.za
- School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, www.uwc.ac.za
- Treatment Action Campaign, www.tac.org.za
- UNAIDS, www.unaids.org
Facts at a Glance
- The private health care sector spends approximately seven times more per capita than the public health care sector – on less than 20% of the population.1
- HIV/AIDS was responsible for 29.8% of deaths in 2000 – but rose to 50.8% in 2005.2
- Based on antenatal testing, the current HIV prevalence is estimated to be in the range of 28.5% to 30.5%.3
- During the past eight years, the population grew 14%, yet only 12% more professional nurses were trained – just one of many indicators that training and retaining health care personnel is not keeping pace with demand.4
- HIV/AIDS is particularly prevalent among disadvantaged and young people, with infection rates of 30.8% among 20- to 24-year olds; and 38.5% among 25- to 34-year olds.5
Footnotes
1. Source: Health Systems Trust, South African Health Review, 2005 http://www.hst.org.za/generic/29
2. Source: Health Systems Trust, South African Health Review, 2005 http://www.hst.org.za/generic/29
3. Source: Department of Health, National HIV and Syphilis Antenatal sero-prevalence survey in South Africa, 2004 http://www.doh.gov.za/docs/reports-f.html
4. Source: Cullinan K., “Staff Looting continues”, Health-e www.health-e.org.za/
5. Source: Department of Health, National HIV and Syphilis Antenatal Sero-prevalence Survey in South Africa, 2004 http://www.hst.org.za/generic/29
