Thanks Chairperson. In response, thank you to hon Dhlomo for the question about the compact which was signed by the President with various stakeholders.
In terms of this compact, there were nine pillars which were agreed upon. The first one was the augmentation of human resources. In this regard, a lot of work has been done. The ministerial task team on human resources for health is finalising the human resources for health strategy and the plan. However, a lot of work has already happened. As a result of the stimulus package which was announced by the President in the previous term, funds were identified through which the health Human Resources Capacitation Grant was created, and in this regard R350 million was allocated to the provinces to appoint key and essential staff.
We are also dealing with the issue of public nursing colleges which have been consolidated in all provinces, with each province having one major campus and satellite campuses for nurses' training with the new curriculum for training. So, all that work is under way.
The second pillar was to ensure access to essential medicines, vaccines and medical products. In this regard, we are implementing what we call the Stock Visibility System to improve oversight over pharmaceutical stock in all provinces. This is ongoing. Also, the Centralised Chronic Medicines Dispensing ... which allows stable patients to collect their medication, not necessarily at health facilities, is ongoing. The third one was on infrastructure. Again, here we have a
10 year plan to implement infrastructure improvements.
Engagements with the private sector was the next one. In this regard, we are guided by the findings of the Health Market Inquiry in terms of areas of improvement in accessibility of the private health system.
In terms of those pillars, improvement of quality was number five. A national Quality Improvement Plan is being implemented and the national department is also establishing quality learning centres in all provinces. Also, the Ideal Clinic programme is gaining momentum with more than 55% of our clinics already acquiring ideal status.
The sixth pillar was on improving efficiency of the public sector's financial management system. In this regard, the national chief financial officer, CFO, is meeting on a regular basis with all provincial CFOs to improve financial management.
The seventh pillar was improving leadership. In terms of this, as a national Department of Health we are already reviewing our organogram to ensure that it is in line with the preparations for the National Health Insurance, NHI, and also
... be able to support the improvement of leadership in all our facilities.
The eighth one was engaging and empowering communities. In this regard, a number of clinic committees and hospital boards have been formed and capacitated.
The last one was in terms of improving our health information systems. Here also is a lot of improvement with what we call the Health Patient Registration System, where more than 3 051 primary health facilities have already been given the necessary equipment, computers and training, and ... registration of the population on the Health Patient Registration System.
So that is the work that has been done in terms of the compact which the President signed with various stakeholders.