South Africa to implement National Health Insurance Bill despite resistance

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to move ahead with the implementation of the National Health Insurance Bill, despite strong opposition from within and outside the government.

He signed the controversial Bill into law just before his African National Congress party lost its parliamentary majority in the May elections.

The NHI aims to provide universal healthcare coverage for all through a major overhaul of the country's two-tier system.

It will gradually limit the role of private healthcare insurance which fewer than 16 per cent of South Africans have.

Supporters see the Bill as a positive change which will reverse inequalities dating back to the apartheid era.

However, political parties and other stakeholders opposed to the NHI argue the proposed funding model will not work.

There have also been also concerns that its implementation will be undermined by widespread corruption, and budget restraints which already see the country struggling to fund other basic services.

Speaking on the final day of the ANC policy meeting on Tuesday, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that sections of the bill will be implemented "immediately".

This includes setting up advisory committees and amending other health-related laws to be in line with the NHI.

But he added that it would be implemented in phases over years and acknowledged that legal challenges could delay its roll-out.