DOCSLIB.ORG

Public Health Problems in Apartheid South Africa

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Public Health Problems in Apartheid South Africa Public Health Problems in Apartheid South Africa http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.nuun1979_08 Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education. The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law. Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org Public Health Problems in Apartheid South Africa Alternative title Notes and Documents - United Nations Centre Against ApartheidNo. 7/79 Author/Creator United Nations Centre against Apartheid; Fullerton, Anne Publisher United Nations, New York Date 1979-03-00 Resource type Reports Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) South Africa Coverage (temporal) 1979-00-00 Source Northwestern University Libraries Description Morbidity and Mortality. Health services. Provision of health services. Financing of health services. Discrimination within health. Format extent 18 page(s) (length/size) http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.nuun1979_08 http://www.aluka.org NOTES AND DOCUMENTS* NOTES AND DOCUMENTS* MARCH 1979 PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEMS IN APARTHEID 'I SOUTHAFRICA **by Anne Fullerton, School of Public Health, University of Michigan ** This paper was submitted to the Conference on Apartheid or Health held in London on 3 February 1979 under the auspices of the Anti-Apartheid Health Committee. The views expressed are those of the author. * All material in these notes and documents may be freely reprinted. 79-26135 Acknowledgement, together with a copy of the publication containing the reprint, would be appreciated. 7/79 Introduction In 1967, the world was amazed when South Africa announced that a young surgeon, Dr. Christian Barnard, had just completed the first successful human heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. In 1967, the rate of kwashiorkor in the African population of South Africa was 66.6 cases per 100,000 although kwashiorkor ceased to be a notifiable disease that year because the white rate had dropped to 0.19:100,000. In 1967, a critically injured white man Jay unconscious on Ulazi Bridge near Durban 1 1/2 hours because the first ambulance sent to his aid was for non-whites and could not carry him. An ambulance for whites was later sent. The man died a few days after this incident. No single year in South African health history more clearly demonstrates the paradox of this country where 7 per cent of the population benefit from a health care system which rivals those of the developed world while the vast majority of the South African people labour under the heavy burden of largely preventable diseases combined with high infant mortality rates and woefully indadequate health services. The question "apartheid or health" has been posited precisely because the apartheid system in South Africa is antithetical to the production of a healthy society. Apartheid has created a structure which maintains most of the black South African majority in abject poverty with its concommitant disease burden: malnutrition illnesses, infections diseases aggravated by malnutrition, parasitic illnesses generated by poor sanitary conditions, and vaccine-preventable diseases due to inadequate preventive health services. Apartheid has also created created a stressful social structure. Forced population removals, migrant labour, lack of freedom of expression and the daily threat of Government harrassment have led to high rates of mental illness and stress-related chronic diseases. Apartheid has generated a dual pathology of poverty and violence which prevents South Africa from achieving an optimal level of health. Apartheid has also an impact on the availability of health care. White South Africa enjoys a health care system similar to those of Western nations. Most South Africans, however, must be content with a system characterized by overcrowded facilities, a chronic shortage of medical personnel, and numerous other barriers to access, both financial and structural. As with other professions, apartheid affects the health field. The African does not have equal access to medical education and this -2- differential persists throughout his/her career in the form of wage discrimination. Finally, petty apartheid remains pervasive in the health area and particularly affects the system's ability to provide rapid and efficient emergency services to all groups. If apartheid is incompatible with the production of a healthy society then it follows that the pursuit of bantustanization (as a fulfilment of separate development) can only exacerbate the existing problems. With bantustanization, migrant labour and familial separation become the norm. With bantustanization, the dual economy of health services achieves its fullest expression in the complete geographic separation of black and white health facilities. With bantustanization, a horrific scenario emerges: apartheid may wash its hands of the diseases it has wrought by dumping the diseased back on the bantustan health services whose strained resources cannot bear the burden. With bantustanization, labour is not only cheap but disposable. This paper will examine the impact of apartheid on health and health services in South Africa. We will show first that apartheid has an impact on health and disease and we will look generally at the morbidity and mortality patterns, then more specifically at three public health problems: malnutrition, occupational illness and mental disease. This will be followed by an examination of the impact of apartheid on delivery of health services in South Africa. Apartheid, we will conclude, cannot produce an adequate functional level of health, let alone optimal experiental health. -3- PART I Morbidity and mortality The vital statistics for the Republic of South Africa give the impression of two completely different societies. While the crude death rates for the white population has remained low and fairly constant over the last two decades (indicating that they have achieved a minimum possible mortality rate), the African and Coloured rates have declined (with the control of infectious diseases) but continue to be substantially higher than the white rates. White life expectancy (male) stands at 64,5 years while African life expectancy has been estimated at 52 years. The infant mortality rates, however, are most indicative of the difference in black and white health status. Infant mortality for white South Africans in 1974 was 18,4 deaths per 1,000 live births. Coloureds had an infant mortality rate (imr) of 115.5 in 1974. For Africans, the most recent figures range from 77 in Durban to 216 in the Transkei. 1/ The causes of infant mortality are conmpletely diferent as well. Prematurity is the leading cause of white infant deaths while diarrhoeal disease is the leading cause of Coloured infant mortality. Diarrhoeal disease is not a leading cause of death for white infants; neither is measles - although it is a leading cause of death in Coloured and Asian infants. This pattern can only be attributed to apartheid. Diarrhoea and measles are normal diseases of childhood across the world but combined with malnutrition, poverty and inadequate health care, they can be fatal. Diarrhoea leads to further nutritional malabsorption and death from dehydration in children already weakened by malnutrition; measles can develop into pneumonia in the malnourished child. Many of the infant deaths in the black population may probably have malnutrition as their secondary cause. A survey of the post mortem records from King Edward VIII and Addington Hospitals from 1973-75 shows that while 30 per cent of African and Asian deaths in children under 10 years were due to malnutrition, no white children died from malnutrition during those years.2/ As infant mortality rates are high for black South Africans, it also follows that infant deaths represent a high proportion of all deaths. Perinatal diseases is a leading cause of death in the Coloured and Asian population but not among the whites. The adult white mortality pattern is similar to those in developed countries with a preponderance of heart disease, strokes and neoplasms. I/ 'Implications of apartheid on health and health services in South Africa", Notes and Documents No. 18/77,June 1977. Cardiovascular diseases account for 46.4 per cent of white (male) deaths but only 17,5 per cent of Coloured deaths. Infections and parasitic diseases account for 24,6 per cent of Coloured deaths but only 1,9 per cent of white deaths. Cancers account for fewer deaths in the Coloured community but this is due primarily to the fact that many cancers have a latency period of over 20 years and with the low life expectancy, many black South Africans do not live long enough to die of cancer. The King Edward VIII and Addington Hospital survey also shows that while adult Africans and Asians died of turberculosis and typhoid (which are vaccine preventable) there were few white deaths from these diseases. The morbidity patterns are also different across the different racial groups. Some diseases, such as polio, have changed in their relative incidence rates. Prior to the major 1961 polio immunization campaign, the white rates for polio were higher than the rate for Africans, while the African rate at present is higher.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Freshwater Fishes
    WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE state oF BIODIVERSITY 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction 2 Chapter 2 Methods 17 Chapter 3 Freshwater fishes 18 Chapter 4 Amphibians 36 Chapter 5 Reptiles 55 Chapter 6 Mammals 75 Chapter 7 Avifauna 89 Chapter 8 Flora & Vegetation 112 Chapter 9 Land and Protected Areas 139 Chapter 10 Status of River Health 159 Cover page photographs by Andrew Turner (CapeNature), Roger Bills (SAIAB) & Wicus Leeuwner. ISBN 978-0-620-39289-1 SCIENTIFIC SERVICES 2 Western Cape Province State of Biodiversity 2007 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Andrew Turner [email protected] 1 “We live at a historic moment, a time in which the world’s biological diversity is being rapidly destroyed. The present geological period has more species than any other, yet the current rate of extinction of species is greater now than at any time in the past. Ecosystems and communities are being degraded and destroyed, and species are being driven to extinction. The species that persist are losing genetic variation as the number of individuals in populations shrinks, unique populations and subspecies are destroyed, and remaining populations become increasingly isolated from one another. The cause of this loss of biological diversity at all levels is the range of human activity that alters and destroys natural habitats to suit human needs.” (Primack, 2002). CapeNature launched its State of Biodiversity Programme (SoBP) to assess and monitor the state of biodiversity in the Western Cape in 1999. This programme delivered its first report in 2002 and these reports are updated every five years. The current report (2007) reports on the changes to the state of vertebrate biodiversity and land under conservation usage.
    [Show full text]
  • Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report: Volume 2
    VOLUME TWO Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report The report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was presented to President Nelson Mandela on 29 October 1998. Archbishop Desmond Tutu Ms Hlengiwe Mkhize Chairperson Dr Alex Boraine Mr Dumisa Ntsebeza Vice-Chairperson Ms Mary Burton Dr Wendy Orr Revd Bongani Finca Adv Denzil Potgieter Ms Sisi Khampepe Dr Fazel Randera Mr Richard Lyster Ms Yasmin Sooka Mr Wynand Malan* Ms Glenda Wildschut Dr Khoza Mgojo * Subject to minority position. See volume 5. Chief Executive Officer: Dr Biki Minyuku I CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 6 National Overview .......................................... 1 Special Investigation The Death of President Samora Machel ................................................ 488 Chapter 2 The State outside Special Investigation South Africa (1960-1990).......................... 42 Helderberg Crash ........................................... 497 Special Investigation Chemical and Biological Warfare........ 504 Chapter 3 The State inside South Africa (1960-1990).......................... 165 Special Investigation Appendix: State Security Forces: Directory Secret State Funding................................... 518 of Organisations and Structures........................ 313 Special Investigation Exhumations....................................................... 537 Chapter 4 The Liberation Movements from 1960 to 1990 ..................................................... 325 Special Investigation Appendix: Organisational structures and The Mandela United
    [Show full text]
  • The Health and Health System of South Africa: Historical Roots of Current Public Health Challenges
    Series Health in South Africa 1 The health and health system of South Africa: historical roots of current public health challenges Hoosen Coovadia, Rachel Jewkes, Peter Barron, David Sanders, Diane McIntyre The roots of a dysfunctional health system and the collision of the epidemics of communicable and non-communicable Lancet 2009; 374: 817–34 diseases in South Africa can be found in policies from periods of the country’s history, from colonial subjugation, Published Online apartheid dispossession, to the post-apartheid period. Racial and gender discrimination, the migrant labour system, August 25, 2009 the destruction of family life, vast income inequalities, and extreme violence have all formed part of South Africa’s DOI:10.1016/S0140- 6736(09)60951-X troubled past, and all have inexorably aff ected health and health services. In 1994, when apartheid ended, the health See Editorial page 757 system faced massive challenges, many of which still persist. Macroeconomic policies, fostering growth rather than See Comment pages 759 redistribution, contributed to the persistence of economic disparities between races despite a large expansion in and 760 social grants. The public health system has been transformed into an integrated, comprehensive national service, but See Perspectives page 777 failures in leadership and stewardship and weak management have led to inadequate implementation of what are This is fi rst in a Series of often good policies. Pivotal facets of primary health care are not in place and there is a substantial human resources six papers on health in crisis facing the health sector. The HIV epidemic has contributed to and accelerated these challenges.
    [Show full text]
  • Counting the Cost of South Africa's Health Burden
    1616 Rhode Island Avenue NW Counting the Cost of South Washington, DC 20036 202-887-0200 | www.csis.org Cover photo: Flickr User Rafiq Sarlie. Africa’s Health Burden AUTHORS A Report of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center Richard Downie JULY 2015 Sahil Angelo Blank Counting the Cost of South Africa’s Health Burden Authors Richard Downie Sahil Angelo A Report of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center July 2015 About CSIS For over 50 years, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has worked to develop solutions to the world’s greatest policy challenges. Today, CSIS scholars are providing strategic insights and bipartisan policy solutions to help decisionmakers chart a course toward a better world. CSIS is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Center’s 220 full- time staff and large network of affiliated scholars conduct research and analysis and develop policy initiatives that look into the future and anticipate change. Founded at the height of the Cold War by David M. Abshire and Admiral Arleigh Burke, CSIS was dedicated to finding ways to sustain American prominence and prosperity as a force for good in the world. Since 1962, CSIS has become one of the world’s preeminent international institutions focused on defense and security; regional stability; and transnational challenges ranging from energy and climate to global health and economic integration. Former U.S. senator Sam Nunn has chaired the CSIS Board of Trustees since 1999. Former deputy secretary of defense John J. Hamre became the Center’s president and chief executive officer in 2000.
    [Show full text]
  • REPORTABLE in the HIGH COURT of SOUTH AFRICA (CAPE of GOOD HOPE PROVINCIAL DIVISION) in the Matter Between: CASE NO. 5933/08 An
    REPORTABLE IN THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA (CAPE OF GOOD HOPE PROVINCIAL DIVISION) In the matter between: CASE NO. 5933/08 THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN APPLICANT and THE PREMIER OF THE WESTERN CAPE FIRST RESPONDENT THE MINISTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND HOUSING IN THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OF THE WESTERN CAPE SECOND RESPONDENT THE HON. MR. JUSTICE N.C. ERASMUS N.O. THIRD RESPONDENT GEORGE PAPADAKIS N.O. FOURTH RESPONDENT HERDIE VERMEULEN N.O. FIFTH RESPONDENT DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE INTERVENING PARTY ________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT Delivered on 1st SEPTEMBER 2008 ________________________________________________________________ SWAIN, J. [1] The present dispute arose in the context of the political battle between the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African National Congress (ANC) for control of the City of Cape Town, the council of 2 which is currently led by a coalition of the DA, together with other political parties, which was previously controlled by the ANC. [2] The applicant is the City of Cape Town (the City) the executive Mayor of which is M/s Helen Zille, a member of the DA and its national leader. 2.1 The first respondent is the Premier of the Western Cape, Mr. Ebrahim Rasool (the Premier) and the second respondent is the Minister for Local Government and Housing in the Provincial Government of the Western Cape Mr. Qubudile Dyanatyi (the MEC). The Western Cape Provincial Government is controlled by the ANC which currently has a majority in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature. The Premier and the MEC are members of the ANC. 2.2 The third respondent is the Honourable Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Inequalities in South African Health Care
    95 - .----------------------------"L...-.-- Inequalities in South African health care Part I. The problem - manifestations and origins H. C.]. VANRENSBURG, A. FOURIE Abstract This exposition analyses and contextualises the Amid the broader democratisation process and the con­ complex problem of structural inequality in South comitam universalisation of human rights in South African health care. Socio-econornic conditions, Africa and elsewhere, it is only apt to put the problem of racial divisions and geographical location are iso­ persistent inequalities and the ensuing demands for lated as the main determinants ofinequality in the equalisation - as it has sedimented in the health care provision, allocation and distribution of health field in particular - under renewed scrutiny. W/e are care; the prevailing inequalities are attributed to a convinced that a more equal and equitable dispensation wide range of underlying causes, including the is indeed possible in South African health care, provided absence of a central, binding health policy, the that a more decisive and directive political will to prominent role of apartheid and white domina­ embark on fundamental reform emerges from the pre­ tion, the free market and the medical profession, sent paralysing impasse. The purpose of our exposition as well as the unique sociocultural set-up of the is analytically and systematically to explore the possibili­ country. The urgent need for deliberate strategies ties and prospects of greater equality in South African to equalise the prevailing disparities and discrep­ health care. ancies is posed. S Atr Med J 1994; 84: 95-99. The nature and types of inequality in health care Inequalities in South African health care arise along present, as has been the case for decades now, various dividing lines according to which the distribu­ ~health care in South Africa is plagued by a multi­ tion and provision of resources are regulated, and they tude of problems, constraints and deficiencies.
    [Show full text]
  • Adopting HIV/AIDS Policy in Russia and South Africa, 1999-2008
    Syracuse University SURFACE Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Political Science - Dissertations Affairs 2011 Treatment as a Common Good: Adopting HIV/AIDS Policy in Russia and South Africa, 1999-2008 Vladislav Kravtsov Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/psc_etd Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Kravtsov, Vladislav, "Treatment as a Common Good: Adopting HIV/AIDS Policy in Russia and South Africa, 1999-2008" (2011). Political Science - Dissertations. 97. https://surface.syr.edu/psc_etd/97 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Political Science - Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT The goal of this dissertation is to increase our understanding of domestic policy responses to initiatives and expertise as provided by international health organizations. Although following international recommendations often improves domestic public health, in certain circumstances resistance to adopting them persists. My core theoretical argument suggests that a strong societal agreement about what constitutes the ―common good‖ served by state (e.g., ―social purpose‖) informs how domestic policy-makers evaluate the benefits of adopting international recommendations. This agreement also affects how governments frame the provision of treatment, decide which subpopulations should benefit from the consumption of public good, and choose their partners in policy implementation. To demonstrate the impact of social purpose I examine how, why and with what consequences Russia and South Africa adopted the external best case practices, guidelines, and recommendations in regard to the HIV/AIDS treatment.
    [Show full text]
  • Cape Town, South Africa DUKEENGAGE in SOUTH AFRICA
    DUKEENGAGE IN SOUTH AFRICA – CAPE TOWN Learning justice in post-apartheid South Africa Dates: June 11, 2020 – August 7, 2020 (Dates subject to change up until the point of departure) Service Themes: Human Rights & Civil Liberties Public Policy Women’s Advocacy & Women’s Empowerment Immigration & Refugees Program Focus Assisting social agencies seeking to improve life in townships, advocating for affordable housing access in the city, documenting the life histories of retired factory workers, and promoting health and economic reform. Program Leader(s) Anne-Maria Makhulu, Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology and African & African American Studies. Anne-Maria’s research and teaching interests cover the history and anthropology of South Africa and specifically South Africa’s economic history, the migrant labor system, urbanization, “the right to the city,” as well as decoloniality in the university, and the student campus movements including #FeesMustFall and #RhodesMustFall. Program Overview The program begins with a two-day tour of the city and its environs. Students will visit monuments, institutions, and neighborhoods in order to better understand South Africa’s history of colonial settlement, apartheid, political struggle, and liberation. Following an initial orientation, students will dedicate the remainder of the program to working at a variety of social agencies. These are organizations seeking to advocate for and improve the lives of ordinary Capetonians. While some of the organizations focus on direct service work in Cape Town’s surrounding communities, others focus on creating a more just South Africa by pushing for structural changes in South Africa’s social, economic, and political system. These partners advocate for worker’s rights, socioeconomic, racial, and gender justice, women’s health and empowerment.
    [Show full text]
  • (Rthc) in MONITORING CHILDREN's ORAL HEALTH
    EVALUATION OF THE USE OF THE ORAL HEALTH SECTION OF THE ROAD TO HEALTH CHART (RtHC) RUGSHANA CADER BoH (UWC) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MSc (Dent) in Dental Public Health Supervisor: Professor Sudeshni Naidoo, PhD December 2016 1 ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Dental caries in preschool children remains a major dental public health problem as it affects a significant number of preschool children in both developed and developing countries. Dental caries is a multifactorial disease caused by bacteria, sugar and carbohydrates which metabolize to form acids. These acids demineralize the tooth surface which results in dental caries. Cariogenic bacteria can pass from mother to child in the first two years of the child’s life. Other causes of childhood caries result from poor feeding practices and dietary practices. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement advises that screening should be conducted by the time of the first tooth appearance and at no later than 12 months of age (AAP, 2011). AIM: To investigate use of the Road to Health Chart (RtHC) in monitoring child oral health. METHODOLOGY: The multistage cluster sampling technique was used to select the study participants for the review of RtHC use. Three primary healthcare clinics were selected randomly from each of the six sub-districts in the Cape metropolitan region. The districts were subdivided into: Cape Town Eastern Health sub-District, Cape Town Northern Health sub-District, Cape Town Southern Health sub-District, Cape Town Western Health sub- District, Khayelitsha Health sub-District, Klipfontein Health sub-District (DoH, 2016).
    [Show full text]
  • A Background to Health Law and Human Rights in South Africa
    2 Health & Democracy Chapter 1 A background to health law and human rights in South Africa CONTENTS 1.1 What do we mean by health? 4 World Health Organisation defi nition of health 4 A wider responsibility for health care 6 1.2 What are health rights? 7 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 7 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 8 A background to health law and human rights in South Africa 3 The South African Constitution 9 The relationship between human rights, policy and law 10 1.3 Health under apartheid 11 Social conditions that caused ill health 11 Segregation of health services 13 Unequal spending on health services 13 Lack of signifi cant challenge to apartheid health 13 1.4 A vision for health as a human right 14 Freedom Charter 14 Primary health care approach 14 Reconstruction and Development Programme 15 1.5 The state of health and the health care system in 1994 16 Racial inequalities 16 Geographic inequalities 17 Public and private inequalities 17 1.6 The challenges of health reform after 1994 18 Fulfi lling the promise of the Constitution 18 Restructuring and transforming health systems 19 1.7 How can we measure if the right to health is being realised? 22 How does the government measure the nation’s health? 22 How can we assess if people’s rights to health services are being met? 24 1.8 New threats to the right to health in South Africa 25 Continuing inequalities and imbalances 25 Human resource challenges 25 The HIV/AIDS epidemic 26 International trade law 26 Failures of the Ministry of Health 28 The continuing responsibility of civil society 29 4 Health & Democracy 1.1 What do we mean by health? In the early 20th century, Herbert Dhlomo, a writer from KwaZulu-Natal, wrote a short play called Malaria.
    [Show full text]
  • The Practice and Provision of Community Health in South Africa
    Social Determinants of Health in South Africa IPBH-3005 (3 Credits / 45 hours) SIT Study Abroad Program: South Africa: Community Health and Social Policy Please Note: This syllabus represents a typical semester. Because courses develop and change over time to take advantage of unique learning opportunities, actual course content varies from semester to semester. Course Description This course examines the social determinants affecting the burden of disease in South Africa. The course explores the pervasive effects of a history of racialized under-development and exploitation, and moves on to analyse the systems and policies that have been applied to redress inequities and improve health outcomes. The course is taught through facilitated engagements with local communities, schools, clinics and non-government organisations, and through lectures by local experts on health, education, gender and law. Learning Outcomes By the end of the course students will be expected to: Explain how social and political processes shape health outcomes especially for lower-income rural and peri-urban communities; Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the necessity for differentiated community-based and nation-wide intervention strategies; and Recognize the complexities involved in the implementation of a multi-sectoral approach to facilitate the progressive improvement of health outcomes that are substantively linked to social determinants. Language of Instruction This course is taught in English but students will be exposed to vocabulary related to course content through in-South Africa expert lectures and field visits to a wide range of venues and regional locales. Copyright © SIT, a program of World Learning Course Schedule *Please be aware that topics and excursions may vary to take advantage of any emerging events, to accommodate changes in our lecturers’ availability, and to respect any changes that would affect student safety.
    [Show full text]
  • Addressing Social Determinants of Health in South Africa: 8 the Journey Continues
    Addressing social determinants of health in South Africa: 8 the journey continues Authors: Vera Scotti Nikki Schaayi Helen Schneideri,ii David Sandersi,iii ith the recent change from the Millennium Development Goals to Addressing social the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals, the focus of the global determinants is a corner- W development agenda is expanding: there is attention on a broader set of social determinants and, importantly, a specific sensitivity to equity, which could have stone in the National a substantial effect on health. Addressing social determinants is a cornerstone in the Department of Health’s National Department of Health’s Primary Health Care Re-engineering Strategy, and an approach that is embedded in the country’s National Development Plan. However, Primary Health Care the translation of this policy commitment to programmatic action at different levels in Re-engineering Strategy, the health system and in partnership with other sectors remains elusive. and an approach that is This chapter draws on evidence collated by the World Health Organization Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, complemented with empirical embedded in the country’s evidence from South Africa to strengthen the contextual sensitivity of the analysis, in National Development Plan. order to identify the social determinants impacting on the major components of the However, the translation of burden of disease in South Africa. Obesity is used as a case study to illustrate how action to address these determinants is required at different levels in the health system, this policy commitment to and in partnership with other sectors. programmatic action The evidence is then used to interrogate the National Development Plan and the at different levels in PHC Re-engineering Strategy as two major policy instruments that have the potential the health system and in to address social determinants.
    [Show full text]