More than thee years ago, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi announced 10 districts across the country that would pioneer what may be the biggest revolution in health since the introduction of antiretrovirals: The National Health Insurance (NHI).

One common medical aid for all South Africans, as envisaged by government’s proposed NHI, could remedy huge inequalities in access to health care in the country.

Together, initial NHI pilot districts comprise 20 percent of the population and have already begun rolling out primary health care innovations including district clinical specialist and ward-based outreach teams, more convenient chronic medication dispensing schemes and given school health a booster shot.

As the White Paper awaits Cabinet approval, according to the Department of Health, Health-e News charts the NHI’s first three years in our latest In-Depth Report.

NHI far from reality but progress made in improving public health

One common medical aid for all South Africans, as envisaged by government’s proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, is many years away, but many of the country’s 10 pilot sites are making progress.

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Gauteng, North West lead country in new community health team

With almost 100 community health teams scouring the district’s streets, Tshwane and North West’s Dr Kenneth Kaunda districts are leading South Africa in pioneering community health as part National Health Insurance (NHI).

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Doing things differently in KZN

There’s a quiet revolution in one of the poorest districts in the land, where health workers have moved out of health facilities into communities to prevent rather than cure health problems

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Poor conditions scare GPs away from public sector

Poor conditions in some National Health Insurance (NHI) pilot districts are causing general practitioners to think twice about working in public health

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School health teams take screenings to rural children

For the country’s rural children, the revitalisation of school health services could be a lifeline – if doctors and specialists answer the call.

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New system lets patients pick up medicine from shops

Patients in rural KwaZulu-Natal are able to pick up their medicine from a wide range of local pick-up points, in a national experiment aimed at cutting the long queues at hospital pharmacies.

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Other recent In-Depth reports from Health-e News:

• In-Depth: Water trucks take over as communities run dry
• In-Depth: Mpumalanga’s deadly debt
• In-Depth: Shots in the dark – vaccines in South Africa