The SA NCD Alliance’s framed its comment on the NHI White Paper from the perspective of the people who will use the health system. It argues for a person-centred approach as promised in the National Development Plan. By failing to include patient or citizen accountability we are destined to be stuck in the same paradigm that underscores the Competition Commission Market Inquiry into the Private Health Sector. Health and its users are are a commoditized, cogs in a financial system.
We require a non-dualist approach including both financial and social accountability. We advocate for a citizen-driven social accountability framework which is aligned to a collaborative person-centred and civil society perspectives. The citizens’ voice must be heard in response to the White Paper because it sets the framework for a “massive shift in policy and service delivery.” Our health system remains unaccountable to the people who use it.
The SA NCD Alliance has long supported the concept of universal health coverage and access. We want to be partners in this momentous change.
World Visions’s Citizen-Driven Accountability for the Sustainable Development Goals