South Africa’s Health Care Environment

Half day workshop presented by The Health Policy Unit (Free Market Foundation) & International Policy Network

Date: Friday, 2 March 2007
Johannesburg, South Africa

Registration: 08h30 for 09h00

No Charge

Session 1 (2 hours)

Private Health Care Delivery – successes & constraints
Chair: Terry Markman, Council Member, Free Market Foundation

Panel:
Medical Practitioners – Dr Kgosi Letlape, Chairman, SA Medical Association

Pharmaceutical Manufacturers – Vicki Ehrich, Executive Director, Pharmaceutical Industry Association of SA

Hospitals – Adv Kurt Worral-Clare, Executive Director, Hospital Association of South Africa

Medical Schemes – Dr Maurice Goodman, Head – Health Professions Strategy, Discovery Health

Pharmacists – Ivan Kotze, Executive Director, Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa (PSSA).

South Africa’s private sector provides world class health care – Panelists will make brief presentations describing the contributions the members of their sectors make to providing high quality health care in South Africa and mentioning any constraints that may prevent them from providing an even better service. An open discussion will follow the presentations.

Session 2 (2 hours)

Health Care Delivery to the Poor
Chair: Eustace Davie, Director, Health Policy Unit (a division of the Free Market Foundation)

Panel:
Diseases of poverty – Philip Stevens – Director, Health Programme, International Policy Network (IPN) featuring IPN’s new book Fighting the diseases of poverty edited by Philip Stevens.

Providing the poor with greater choice – Temba Nolutshungu, Director, Free Market Foundation

The private/public health care split – Johan Biermann, contributor to Fighting the diseases of poverty

Combating malaria – Patrick Moonasar, Department of Health

South Africa is a relatively poor country and the diseases of poverty present the country with a formidable problem, which both the public and private sectors are contributing to addressing. Given the financial constraints, South Africa’s health care sector is providing services that compare remarkably well with those of much wealthier countries. An open discussion will follow the presentations.

13h30 – Lunch