Event Overview
President Cyril Ramaphosa will preside over the signing of the second Presidential Health Compact at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Thursday, 22 August 2024. This initiative, originally established by President Ramaphosa in 2019, serves as a strategic framework for collaboration among key sectors influencing health outcomes in South Africa.
Purpose and Background
The Presidential Health Compact aims to enhance health systems through cooperative efforts across various sectors. It incorporates a monitoring and evaluation component that delineates roles and responsibilities among stakeholders to support health system strengthening and the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI).
The second compact follows the 2023 Presidential Health Summit, which expanded upon the inaugural 2018 summit. The summit engaged a diverse array of participants, including government, business, labor, civil society, health professionals, unions, service users, statutory councils, academia, and researchers, to develop sustainable and inclusive solutions to national health system challenges.
Pillars of the Compact
The compact initially comprised nine pillars, with an additional pillar added during last year’s summit. The pillars are:
- Development of human resources
- Improvement of access to medicine, vaccines, and health products
- Infrastructure upgrading
- Private sector engagement
- Quality healthcare
- Public sector financial management improvements
- Governance and leadership
- Community engagements
- Information systems
- Pandemic preparedness
Signatories
The following entities will be signatories to the health compact:
- President of the Republic of South Africa
- Minister of Health (Government)
- Minister of Science and Innovation
- Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA) (Business)
- South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) (Civil Society)
- South African Medical Association (Trade Union)
- Democratic Nurses of South Africa
- Congress of South African Trade Unions (Labour)
- Campaigning for Cancer (Patient User Groups)
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) (Academia)
- South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC) (Statutory Bodies)
- National Unitary Professional Association for African Traditional Health Practitioners of South Africa (NUPAATHPSA) (Traditional Knowledge Systems and Allied Health)
This signing underscores the commitment of all parties to advancing health outcomes and reinforcing the national health system through collaborative efforts.
