Programme director
Honourable Mayor of Sedibeng; Councilor Mr Simon Mofokeng
Members of the Executive Council of Sedibeng
Members of the Executive Council of Emfuleni Councilors’
Head of Department of Health and Social Development; Dr KS Chetty
Chief Director Sedibeng District Health, Ms Nongezo Mekgwe
Malunga omphakathi ahloniphekile
Comrades and friends
Ladies and gentlemen, I am elated that you choose to officially launch health posts on the 11 March 2011, a day that fall within the ambits of Human Rights Month and tuberculosis (TB) Awareness Month.
As department, we have decided to implement some decisions which were pronounce by the Premier Nomvula Mokonyane on her State of the Province Address to Gauteng communities that ,our province as of begin of 2011, it is going to establish health posts.
Malunga omphakathi, okhona ngaphakathi kwethu namhlanje, muhlawumbhe kuzafanele ngiqhaze kabanzi ukuthi yini lento esiyibiza ngama health post
Programme director,
The concept of health post was initially developed in the rural areas of Natal in the 1940’s by a couple known as Dr Sidney and Emily Kark, who felt then, that an active approach was needed in the community to render health service to the surrounding communities in the villages. The concept was known as Family Medicine.
You will know that, Sedibeng lies at the southern-most part of Gauteng province bordering Free State by the Vaal River. According to our Gauteng Health and Social Development research unit statistics; Emfuleni has approximately 717 691 population, the unemployment rate sits at 43, 9% and it has higher provincial prevalence of HIV infections and tuberculosis.
I would like to speak briefly about HIV and youth, in the statistic that have been given above, youth make up a significant proportion of our population and adolescence is the period that is generally associated with time for exploration ,opportunity and risk. The consequences of the risky behavior in most cases are serious and often fatal.
Let’s we take into consideration what the Medical Research Council: Youth Risk Behaviors Study of 2010 reveals:
- 38% of teenagers (nationally) are reported to have started having sex, with 13% of them reporting their age of initiation as being under 14 years old
- among the teenagers concerned here, 41% had more one partner
- 16% had sex after consuming alcohol
- 14% had sex after taking drugs
- 19% had been pregnant or made pregnant by someone
We do not like the situation whereby our young people are afraid of seeking medical help and guidance because they fear ridicule and reprisal from our health care professionals.
It's high time that, we engage youth openly on matters that affect their health such as AIDS, contraceptives and all other conditions that afflict them and are inherent to their age as youth.
Let me commend Sedibeng Health District for having taken the lead and accepted the challenge to serve as provincial model for implementation of the Health Posts. The community of Boipatong must be congratulated for having embrace and taken the ownership of health posts and we know that it will be a successful project.
Health post is a people centre approach to solve the many health and social ill that continuing to affect our people on daily basis.
The health post will work in the following fashion; community will be divided into health sectors which are subdivision of the community consisting of 300 household that allows for deployment of the smaller unit of care into a community which is the health post.
Therefore one health post will be caring for one health sector made out of 300 household. Boipatong is divided into eight health sector for each health post. In each every health post, we shall have one mother clinic for referrals which is Boipatong Community Health Centre in Boipatong. I am also informed that each health post will be manned by clinical team consisting of doctors, nurses, social workers and other allied health professionals as well the Community Health Workers.
Programme director,
In my view, this new way of thinking in Gauteng will play a key role in ensuring that our people have better access to health care. The way in which healthcare will be rendered community is also known as, process care which is revolutionary.
Today as we officially launch health post in Boipatong, the members of the community and leadership in general, need to be aware that our serious concern is the issue of the maternal and child deaths.
With launching of this project, members of community need to ensure that no mother or new born babies that dies as result of avoidable factors such as:
- expectant mothers never initiating antenatal care
- infrequent visits to antenatal clinic
- failing to return on prescribe date
- delaying seeking medical attention during labor
- delaying in seeking medical attention when baby is ill
- partner declining admission or treatment
Without doubt, tackling of the above-mentioned is a societal issue in all of us can play a role.
Let us work together to attain what our country is set for in as far as the Millennium Development Goals are concerned ,particularly on all Health related goals that entails:
- reducing child mortality
- improving maternal health
- combating HIV and AIDS
Indeed better life for all our people in all corners of Gauteng province
I thank you.
