SA Prepare For NHI Public Hearings As #UNGA74 Reaches ‘Most Comprehensive Agreement Ever’ On Global Health

Riyaz Patel

Public hearings on South Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill are set to begin in October as UN Secretary-General António Guterres hailed the UN Political Declaration on universal health coverage, or UHC, describing it as an “important landmark” on the “journey to health for all.”

The UN UHC document commits countries to advance towards full coverage for their citizens in four major areas around primary care.

Addressing heads of State, ministers, health leaders, policy-makers, and universal health coverage advocates, the UN chief called UHC “the most comprehensive agreement ever reached on global health.”

World leaders made the public commitment during the meeting at the beginning of the high level week of the UN General Assembly, themed “Universal Health Coverage: Moving Together to Build a Healthier World.”

He maintained that this “significant achievement” will drive progress over the next decade on tackling communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, while addressing non-communicable disease and the