Government committed to rooting out inefficiency in health system – David Mabuza

The government is committed to rooting out inefficiency, laxity and dysfunction in the country’s health system, Deputy President David Mabuza says.

“We are determined to be efficient, effective and to use the little resources we have as best we can,” he said.

Mabuza was speaking on Saturday at an event at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg, to commemorate World Aids Day.

He said in the last year alone, the government had “managed to test 11 million people and initiated 567,293 people on ART (antiretroviral therapy”.

“We are targeting HIV together with its fraternal sibling - tuberculosis. 

“We are determined to find those that are missing our national reach, those who have little knowledge and are vulnerable to multi-drug resistant TB,” Mabuza said.

“We seek to screen and test 14 million people for HIV and TB, and 7 million for high blood pressure and diabetes. This will help us to add an additional 2 million HIV infected persons to the existing 4.3 million already receiving ARVs (antiretrovirals) by December 2020.

“Going forward, our focus should be on young people and men. It is young people, especially those between 15 and 24 years of age and men that are not testing for HIV, not being initiated on ARVs and not reaching viral suppression,” he added.