South Africa’s healthcare worker shortages are arguably the country’s biggest healthcare story, yet government leaders have failed to tackle them, according to an editorial. It accompanies an investigation by journalist Sue Segar into unemployed doctors who protested for jobs in KwaZulu-Natal earlier this year. Unemployed doctors amid staff shortages According to the editorial, many of the protesting doctors are committed…
Tag: Health Workforce
-
Provincial Health Departments Pose a Significant Fiscal Risk
Weak financial controls in provincial health departments pose significant fiscal risks, according to Treasury’s medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS), tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. Treasury highlighted unpaid obligations, mounting debts and medico-legal claims as key pressures on health budgets. Audit Outcomes and Unpaid Bills Five of the nine provincial health departments received qualified audits for 2025/2026, the Auditor-General told Parliament…
-
Unpaid specialist training strains SA doctors
Unpaid specialist training is becoming an increasingly visible feature of South Africa’s public health system as doctors compete for a limited number of funded training posts. Some local doctors are working without salaries for extended periods to gain the clinical experience required to qualify as specialists. Almost all of the clinical training required for specialisation and sub-specialisation takes place in…
-
Zimbabwe National Health Strategy Aims to Transform Healthcare
Zimbabwe has taken a significant step towards reshaping its health system, launching a high-level validation workshop for its National Health Strategy 2026-2030. Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora told stakeholders the strategy arrives at a “defining moment” for the country. He urged them to view it not as a policy document, but as an actionable roadmap. Importantly, it is aligned with Zimbabwe’s…
-
Medical Aid Tax Credits and Public Health Jobs
South Africa’s public health crisis is no longer only about disease burden. It is also about staffing, budgets and political choices. Furthermore, a new argument gaining traction is that austerity is shrinking frontline services. At the same time, the tax system still cushions households that can afford private cover, especially through benefits like Medical Aid Tax Credits. The government has…
-
SA’s Healthcare Austerity Crisis Threatens Specialist Training
South Africa’s Healthcare Austerity Crisis is shaking the foundation of the nation’s public health system, warns the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA). By highlighting SA’s Healthcare Austerity Crisis, the CMSA cautioned that deepening budget cuts by provincial health departments are dismantling the pipeline that produces medical specialists. The organisation says current austerity measures not only threaten the long‑term…