Hon Minister of Health, Dr Motsoaledi, Deputy Minister Ramokgopa, hon members of the House, guests, the director-general and staff, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank the hon Minister for his leadership. He is leading the sector at a time when South Africa's health is at a crossroads and going through the pandemics, as he has described. In fact, I think health systems all over the world are facing particular challenges. I agree that we, as elected leaders, face some important decisions.
In his speech the Minister highlighted HIV and Aids, TB, maternal and child mortality, the incidence of noncommunicable diseases, violence and injury. In my address to the House today, I would like to point out the programmes that the Western Cape department of health has implemented to address these pandemics in support of the national challenge.
With regard to HIV and Aids and TB, the Western Cape department of health has allocated R661 million to the HIV/Aids and TB programme. This is augmented by a further R166 million from the Global Fund. We are extremely appreciative of the ongoing support of the Global Fund, and their contribution over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period is R579 million.
The Western Cape is the only provincial recipient in the country of this grant. It will enable the department to strengthen grant programmes and the management thereof, while expanding antiretroviral treatment, ART, infrastructure, antiretroviral, ARV, services, the prevention of mother-to- child transmission, PMTCT, system, peer education and palliative care services in this regard. The second phase will follow directly after this original period funded by the Global Fund, and a further three-year period will be funded by this grant.
Measures to reduce the burden of HIV and Aids and TB include: the treatment, care and support of 80% of all people diagnosed with HIV; antiretroviral therapy to 116 000 adults and children in the province during 2011-12, whereas two years ago we had 36 000 people on ARVs; PMTCT services, aiming to reduce the transmission to below 3%, although we believe we are already below 3%; and HIV and TB services at all district, secondary and central hospitals for clients with complex HIV or TB. We will also meet the target of 1,1 million and we will administer ARVs and HIV counselling and testing, HCT, at all facilities in the Western Cape.
With regard to maternal and child mortality, the shockingly high rate of child mortality, and a major cause of the burden of disease, is addressed through more prevention and promotion activities at district level and in the strengthening of the maternal, child and women's health care programmes. The Western Cape department of health aims to reduce the mortality rate of children under the age of five years to 30 per 1 000 live births and the maternal mortality rate to 90 per 100 000 live births by 2015.
We launched the Road to Health booklet at the Mowbray Maternity Hospital on 31 May. Every mother will be issued with one of these booklets when a child is born in this province, in both the private and public sectors. We believe that these booklets, with a special focus on prevention, are the key rallying tool to enhance the wellness of children. All key partners, including nonprofit organisations, NPOs, universities and the private sector, are involved.
Focus areas for improving women's health include: motivating more pregnant women to seek antenatal care before the 20th week of their pregnancy; targeting the reduction in the delivery rate of women under the age of 18 years; increasing the cervical cancer screening rate; and improving family planning services.
With regard to the incidence of noncommunicable diseases, the Western Cape department of health is committed to increasing awareness of, and drives initiatives to address the factors that contribute to the burden of disease. These include poverty, lack of sanitation and potable water, and unhealthy lifestyles.
In addition, in the Western Cape we have continuously spoken about the upstream causes of ill health, but we have decided that the seriousness of these causes requires the issue to be taken to the next level in our province. It is for this reason that the Western Cape provincial government has implemented a platform to address these issues intersectorally amongst spheres of government, different departments in provincial government, nongovernmental organisations and the private sector. Four working groups have been established to address the upstream issues that contribute to the burden of disease. We believe that the strategies and action plans emerging from these working groups will have a long-term benefit in regard to the disease profile of our people.
With regard to violence and injury, the injury burden, which includes intentional injuries such as homicides and suicides and unintentional injuries such as road traffic injuries and fire-related injuries, accounts for approximately 23,9% of the burden of disease in the Western Cape. In comparison to the rest of the world, violence is a particular problem in our province, where the injury-related mortality rate for men is 10 times the global average, and for women 7 times the average. The Deputy Minister referred to it as being 6 times, so I might be called a liar for 1 time. [Interjections.] Substance abuse, particularly alcohol abuse, is one of the most important drivers of the burden of disease in the Western Cape, as it fuels both violence and road traffic injuries. There are two primary drivers that place a burden of injury on the health system - road accidents, and violence related to substance abuse, especially the abuse of alcohol. To address these, two main strategies are now being developed and implemented in our province. Firstly, there is a strategy to increase road safety with the aim of halving fatalities caused by road accidents; and, secondly, there is a strategy to reduce the incidence and harmful effects of substance abuse, including, and especially, alcohol abuse.
The Western Cape department of health is at a momentous time in its history. We have come to the end of the Health Care 2010 vision. Our evaluations show that the objectives of this plan have been successfully achieved. The establishment of a primary health care infrastructure has been completed. We are now standing at the gate of the second decade of this millennium, with the vision for health services to 2020 in mind.
The Western Cape department of health has put its focus on placing the patient, patient experience and the quality of care for patients back at the heart of our vision. This vision will be aligned with the values of the provincial government of the Western Cape. These are: caring, competency, accountability, integrity and responsiveness. The strategy will provide the framework for future service, personnel, infrastructure and financial planning. This can be achieved by positioning and strengthening our district health services to form a solid base, with regional and central hospitals and other support services as a strong support.
On this journey, the Western Cape department of health had a major shift in focus, which sets the Western Cape apart, not only from the rest of the country, but also from other governments. It is a fresh approach to public health care that is certainly new and has the potential to direct the debate on public health management in a new direction. We gave it the name Strategic Objective 4: Increasing Wellness. We launched this strategic objective last year. In terms of this vision, the early detection and prevention of disease have been prioritised through educational interventions. Effective strategies in these areas will have a long-term benefit with regard the disease profile of our people in the province.
In conclusion, the DA supports the budget. We congratulate the Minister, and our province will not overspend. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]