While health systems constraints are increasingly recognized as primary barriers to the scaling up of health services and achievement of health goals, knowledge regarding how to improve health systems is often weak and frequently not well-utilised in policy-making. This Review addresses a mismatch between what is known about how to respond to particular health problems in poor economies and what is actually done about them. It focuses on one cause of the problems that ensue from the mismatch – capacity constraints.
Equitable health services
Sound Choices at the Global Forum for Health Research, Beijing, October 2007
Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, December 2007
South Africa District Health Barometer 2015/16
Massyn N; Peer N; English R; Padarath A; Barron P; Day C: Health Systems Trust, South Africa, 2016
The District Health Barometer (DHB) 2015/16, in its 11th edition, seeks to highlight, health system performance, inequities in health outcomes, and health-resource allocation and delivery, and to track the efficiency of healthcare delivery processes across all provinces and districts in South Africa. It has become a planning and management resource for health service providers, managers, researchers and policy-makers. This DHB contains 44 indicators, with trend illustrations and health profiles across South Africa’s nine provinces and 52 health districts. It includes a chapter on the burden of disease, as well as seven additional indicators, including: inpatient under 5 years death rate, percentage of ideal clinics, percentage of assessed PHC facilities with patients who have access to a medical practitioner and the MDR-TB treatment success rate.
South Africa reveals its Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan
Magamdela P: Health-e, 9 May 2009
Government has revealed its National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan in the event of an outbreak of swine flu in the country. Dr. Frew Benson, the Chief Director of Communicable Diseases in the Department of Health, explained to the media how the team would respond after being alerted of a suspected case. ‘They would go out to that particular case, investigate, take all the epidemiological data around this case, make certain that the case is isolated and trace all the contacts of this case. They will then make sure, if the case meets the criteria for treatment with anti-virals’, he said. The department has assured the public that it has stockpiled more than enough batches of the anti-viral drug, Tamiflu, which has been found to be effective against swine flu. ‘We’ve got 100,000 doses (of Tamiflu) and more available if need be. We have more than 10 times more than was needed in the Mexican outbreak,’ he added.
South Africa: Effective Delivery of Public Services
AfriMAP, 29 November 2007
This report uses the examples of the health and education sectors to consider South Africa's compliance with the various standards and best practices laid down in relation to the functioning of the public service -- including the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, and the Charter for the Public Service in Africa. While South Africa has many examples of best practice on paper, it is struggling to ensure that these policies are fulfilled in practice: this report offers analysis and suggestions on critical problems for attention.
South Africa: The National Infection Prevention and Control Policy & Strategy
Department of Health, 2007
In the quest to improve the safety of health services and thus align ourselves in part with the international challenges set by the World Health Organisation Global Patient Safety drive, a National Infection Prevention Strategy and Control Policy and accompanying strategy have been developed and presented to all health care personnel in the country.
South Africa: The National Infection Prevention and Control Policy for TB, MDRTB and XDRTB
Department of Health, 2007
The goal of this policy is to help management and staff minimize the risk of TB transmission in health care facilities and other facilities where the risk of transmission of TB may be high due to high prevalence of both diagnosed and undiagnosed TB such as prisons.
South Africa: Third District Health Barometer
Health Systems Trust, 18 April 2008
Primary health care (PHC) in South Africa forms an integral part of both the country's health policies and health system and has been prioritised as a major strategy in achieving health for all. On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Alma Ata Declaration, PHC is once again in the spotlight. How far have we come in the last 30 years? How far in the last three? The third edition of the District Health Barometer, the 2006/07 report sheds some light by monitoring the trend of key health and financial indicators in PHC over the last three years by district and province.
SOUTH AFRICAN HEALTH REVIEW 2006 - Maternal, Womens and Child Health - the unfinished agenda
Health Systems Trust, 22 February 2007
Great strides have been made in improving maternal care in South Africa over the last decade. A record high of ninety percent of pregnant women attend antenatal care and 92% of deliveries of babies are conducted by skilled health workers. Despite such achievements in access to care, maternal deaths are on the increase, mostly fuelled the HIV and TB epidemics.
South African Health Review 2008
Health Systems Trust: 11 December 2008
The 13th edition of the SAHR focuses on primary health care (PHC) in South Africa, 30 years after the historic Alma Ata Declaration, which famously linked health and health status to broader social determinants of health. It includes a national and international perspective of PHC and focuses on areas such as policy and legislation, determinants of health, lifestyle, infectious diseases, mental health, maternal and child health, nutrition and environmental health. It also reviews issues around human resources, finance, and information and concludes with the ‘Indicators’ chapter, which presents a selection of the best available data on the functioning and performance of the South African health system. It also reflects on lessons and mistakes of the past to improve implementation in the future.
South African national HIV prevalence, incidence, behaviour and communication survey, 2008: The health of our children
Shisana O, Rehle T And Simbayi L: Human Sciences Research Council, 2010
In this report, research findings from a population-based household survey are presented on the general health status of infants, children, and adolescents in South Africa including morbidity, utilisation of health facilities, immunisation coverage, HIV status and associated risk factors. It also investigates the exposure of children and adolescents to HIV communication programmes. Close to 90% of children visited a public or private outpatient clinic the last time they were sick, indicating a high rate of utilisation for health services in South Africa. However, more than 20% of children were hospitalised for an average duration of 6.9 days. This demonstrates both the failure of the primary health care system to prevent and adequately manage diseases and the low quality of care provided in these services. This report is intended to play a vital role in assisting policy makers and stakeholders in targeting and prioritising key issues in planning and programming efforts focusing on the broad health issues of South African children.