South Africa spent over 30 billion rands on health services in 1992/93. This amounted
to 8.5 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Its numbers of hospital beds and
health personnel relative to population are average or only slightly below average for
a country with its GDP per capita. However, the accessibility and quality of health
services vary enormously across the country, with the poor, most of whom are
African, receiving vastly inferior care.
The government has announced its intention to restructure the health services. The
aim of this report is to provide the information on health finance and expenditure that
it requires to manage the process of structural change. It is not a planning document,
nor does it attempt to make policy recommendations. The report focuses largely on
public sector health services, and in particular on the needs of the poor.