Health and Wellness
With regard to the cutting of USAID:
What measures will her Department take to address the budget cut?
The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness acknowledges the serious impact that the termination of USAID funding has on our NGO partners who provide critical TB and HIV/AIDS services in the province. The department has taken proactive steps to limit disruptions to healthcare services and will continue to do so in partnership with the National Department of Health and civil society. These measures include:
Fast-tracking the digitisation of medical records to facilitate efficient prescription management, including the rollout of multi-month prescriptions for stable patients on antiretroviral treatment (ART).
Providing multi-month dispensing for up to six months for eligible patients, implementing repeat prescription collection strategies, and allowing a 28-day grace period for late collection.
Introducing automatic script renewals and accelerating planning for an e-scripting initiative to ensure patients can conveniently access their medication.
Rapidly scaling up our “Make Every Contact Count” strategy to strengthen HIV counselling and testing services.
The Western Cape Government is committed to safeguarding the progress made in combating TB and HIV/AIDS. Our approach is people-centred, ensuring continued support to affected NGOs and communities. We encourage anyone on ART to remain committed to their treatment and assure them that these services remain available in our healthcare facilities. We will further engage with the National Department regarding the resources required to manage the shortfall and uphold critical health services in the Western Cape.
