Minister focuses on salt and breastfeeding

Cape Town 131016- Minister of Health Aaron Mostaoledi briefing the Portfolio commitee on Health in Parliament. Picture Cindy waxa.Reporter Sipokazi/Argus

Cape Town 131016- Minister of Health Aaron Mostaoledi briefing the Portfolio commitee on Health in Parliament. Picture Cindy waxa.Reporter Sipokazi/Argus

Published Oct 17, 2013

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Cape Town - Regulating the salt content of food and promoting breast-feeding over formula-feeding are two of the concepts in South Africa’s new approach to health care.

In assuring Parliament that the National Health Insurance (NHI) will be affordable, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi argued that the new universal health care coverage scheme would be based on an economical, preventative model rather than a costly curative form.

Motsoaledi told the portfolio committee on health that while the white paper was yet to be released, it “was going to show that the heartbeat of health care needs to be primary health care”.

 

Motsoaledi described the current curative model as “one of the structural defects” of health care, which was “extremely expensive”.

He said many South Africans believed the NHI would be expensive as they based the scheme on the curative model.

He said countries tended to associate the curative model with modernity and technology, but this often had poor outcomes as it only treated people when they fell ill.

 

“When people think of the NHI, they think it’s going to be very expensive because they are basing it on the curative model, which we are not going to follow… they think we are going to wait for every disease to occur,” he said.

Motsoaledi said the regulation of salt content and the promotion of breastfeeding were some of the concepts that fitted into the proposed primary health care.

 

By regulating salt content only, Motsoaledi said the country could make massive savings on hypertension treatment and kidney dialysis.

 

Motsoaledi also called for parliamentarians to lead in HIV testing and prevention campaigns.

He said while the country had made great strides in fighting HIV/Aids, Parliament had not led by example by having MPs publicly tested.

“One of the methods of reducing HIV… is that every South African must be tested at least once a year. That includes honourable members of Parliament,” he said. - Cape Argus

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