Programme director
Ms Tokozile Xasa, Deputy Minister of Tourism
Ms Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, Deputy Minister of Defence
Advocate Cawe Mahlati, Chairman of the South African Health Tourism
Ms Renee-Marie, President of the Medical Tourism Association
Ms Maria K Todd, President of Council for Global Integration of Healthcare
Mr Alex Piper, President of OneWorld Global Health Care Solutions
Government representatives from Health and Tourism
City of Johannesburg, IDC, Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Board
Medical practitioners and specialists from public and private health sectors
Honourable guests,
Ladies and gentleman
You are welcome,
You would have confirmed during your discussions that medical or health tourism is the fastest growing healthcare industry in the world today, as a result of an increasing number of patients travelling the world over in search of the best quality and affordable medical care. It is also the largest untapped sector.
The sector is fairly new to South Africa in the sense that it is not a prominent or well established area of health service or economic activity. There are several countries that are actively promoting health tourism. We are aware of Cuba, Costa Rica, Hungary, Israel, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia and Thailand. Belgium, Poland, Egypt and Singapore are beginning to exploit the opportunities offered in this market. The world leaders in this multi-billion dollar industry, we are told, are India and Thailand.
South Africa has to position itself as a destination of choice for medical healthcare in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; it is a wave that you will all have to catch. We are open-minded about this trade and would be inclined to support its formalisation understanding that it would contribute to skills development and job creation. We will create an enabling environment for the sector to grow. We will assist those who want to venture into health tourism.
You would have observed that the reputation and integrity of the quality of our health professionals training and a global financial crisis with a favourable foreign exchange rate have resulted in an ever-increasing flow of patients coming to South Africa. Although the private sector is the main beneficiary of this, there is a slow stream of patients who are beginning to present themselves to the public sector hospitals, needing specialist medical and surgical interventions.
There is much scope for collaboration between the medical, tourism, hospital and travel industries. It is important to utilise this opportunity in a coordinated manner, without negatively affecting access to the South African patients. We should also explore possible support and collaboration that can be provided by other departments. This has to be guided appropriately. There is currently no uniform policy to guide and control these activities around health tourism. Our responsibility as government is to attend to those regulations that constrain the industry or create opportunities that may discredit the industry.
South Africa is a signatory to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) health protocol and New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) health protocol. These protocols signed by SADC member states encourage the signatory countries to co-operate in the provision of health services to their citizens. They embody a pledge by the member countries to help each other in the development of their health systems. Of specific note is the call on countries to exchange information and expertise to help in the strengthening of health systems. They also create a framework for African countries to cooperate in patient care namely, referring patients from one country to another.
There is work being done to ensure that trade in social services including healthcare is promoted whilst not crowding out social objectives related to access and equity. The government has signed bilateral agreements with many countries in Africa and Europe. New agreements are being finalised with similar developing countries like Brazil, India and Indonesia. This work will continue as we look for new opportunities for South Africa and explore international interests. Trade in social services is currently being seen as one of the mechanisms through which South Africa is leveraging growth and employment and in the process, expands services trade in the African continent.
However, when you present this concept in a country where access to healthcare is so unequal, you have to be very conscious that you may not succeed unless everyone is included. These activities must also be monitored to mitigate against any unintended consequences, which might develop. It would be unfortunate if in the pursuance of these opportunities were to become reckless, and greedy to damage our livelihood. Your shareholders responsibility should not overtake your moral and ethical duty to South Africa, to the continent as a whole.
The management and co-ordination of infectious disease importation, including emerging and re-emerging infections needs centralised leadership. The advent HINI (swine flu), bird flu, Congo fever, wild polio virus, extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDT-TB) and others need central control and management. The health tourism industry must work with the National Department of Health in managing these areas. This is important for communication, security and integrated disease response and intervention.
South Africa has one of the most stringent guidelines for blood donation and acquisition in the world. The South African Blood Transfusion Service continues to lead the field with its technology. Pharmaceutical products to support the health of everyone are available. Our Medical Control Council (MCC) has a robust system for the registration of all medicinal products. We have also reviewed the law that regulates the MCC to improve turnaround times.
The Health technical task team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, led by the Department of Health, consists of 15 expert work groups is currently operational. They are focusing on various areas such as emergency medical services, communicable diseases, environmental health, port health, stadia, provision of primary healthcare and establishment of command and control points.
There is collaboration with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in providing the necessary back up for emergency events. There is also collaboration with the South African Red Cross Society in terms of support for aero-medical transportation in cases of need. There is no doubt that the experience provided by the FIFA Confederations Cup will contribute vastly to ensuring a world-class health and medical services in 2010.
Finally, I would like to confirm our support for health tourism. It can be used to replace what we have lost as a result of the global crisis. I wish you great success.
Issued by: Department of Health
30 July 2009
