Who Owns South Africa| Private Healthcare: Medical Aid Schemes and Private Hospitals

Join Open Secrets for the second instalment of the Who Owns South Africa (WOSA) investigative series on 30 September at 6pm at the Homecoming Centre. This edition turns the spotlight on Private Healthcare: Medical Aids and Private Hospitals.

South Africa’s healthcare sector is marred by deep rooted inequalities, with millions relying on an overly strained and under resourced public healthcare system. In this installment of Who Owns South Africa, we turn the spotlight on to the role of private players in the health care system and show how the concentration of private power shapes the sector.

Healthcare has been transformed from an essential social service into an asset that can be sold to and traded by global and local financial investors. Volume 2 of WOSA exposes the largest owners of private hospitals and private medical aids, how they profit from the status quo, and how their dominance perpetuates inequality. We also reflect on the introduction of National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, a debate which has dominated South Africa’s political landscape in recent years.

Speakers: Zen Mathe and Luthando Vilakazi will be joined by Fatima Hassan, the founder of the Health Justice Initiative, in conversation with Luvano Ntuli to unpack who profits from private ownership in the healthcare system and what this means for ordinary South Africans.