Success of the National Health Insurance requires collective, aligned effort across the public and private healthcare sectors
Making the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) work – benefitting all South Africans in an affordable way – will require multi-stakeholder collaboration and innovative approaches to deliver improved healthcare.
These themes were central at a recent roundtable discussion on NHI priorities hosted by the Innovative Pharmaceutical Association South Africa (IPASA) and the EU Chambers of Commerce. The dialogue highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships, patient-centric care and the need for efficient regulatory frameworks to support its successful implementation.
“One of the questions asked to the innovative pharmaceutical industry is whether we support the NHI, and the simple answer to that is that we fully support universal healthcare and equitable access to quality medicines for all South Africans,” said IPASA president Rhulani Nhlaniki. “Pharmaceutical innovation has transformed healthcare outcomes, it continues to improve quality of life and our collective efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the positive impact of public-private collaboration in addressing healthcare challenges by balancing access, affordability and innovation.”
“This is why we are fully committed to working with e stakeholders including government, public and private funders, patient advocacy groups, civil society, among other stakeholders,” he said. “While we remain eager to collaborate, a few key things are still not clear. These include how the pricing system will work, how procurement system will be managed, the benefits package, the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) process – especially how independent it will be, all of which will impact patient access to essential medicines” he said.
These essential medicines need to be assessed based on the social impact of the medicines, their cost effectiveness and the science behind them. These, and other considerations, would need to be continuously and openly discussed by stakeholders.
“As industry, we want to ensure the independence and good governance of whatever mechanism comes into play in South Africa, so that we as society use the latest technology and we are not left behind,” he said.
Bada Pharasi, CEO of IPASA, highlighted various collaborative programmes already underway to support innovative healthcare and emphasised the need for their expansion.
“Not only must the NHI expand access to healthcare, but it also needs to create a system that can integrate innovative medicines in a way that is both sustainable and equitable,” says Pharasi. “In building pharmaceutical innovation, we need to support a strong local manufacturing sector, working with local companies and Government institutions involved in scientific research.”
As part of a broader continental effort, more than €700 million has been committed to support vaccine manufacturing and the development of innovative medicines across Africa. An example of this investment is the Afrigen mRNA Hub in Cape Town. Backed by the European Commission, Belgium, Germany and France, the hub is leading the way in advancing clinical trials and developing mRNA vaccines designed in Africa, for Africa.
