Chairperson and hon members, guests and members of the department, as we support this Budget Vote, we are vigilantly going to monitor the expenditure performance and value for money of the department.
Health is one of the priorities of the government. Progress to date on meeting the MDGs is slim, but we hope that they will be met in our lifetime.
In the 1980s, the world health slogan was "Health for All by the Year 2000". In reaction to that, clinics were built, health care was taken closer to where the people lived, and health care was made free for children from birth to six years and for women that were pregnant. The year 2000 saw the declaration of the MDGs by various countries and these were to be met by 2015.
Family planning was well established, but somehow it fell by the way, because women were dying due to backstreet abortions. In 1996 the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act was promulgated and it was amended in 2004. Backstreet abortions had been procured by about 44 000 women and hundreds died annually. After the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, conditions improved.
There is a line of thinking that the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act is family planning. It is not. Family planning is family planning and abortion is intended to deal with unplanned pregnancies.
The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act is intended to assist those women who would like to terminate their pregnancies within 12 weeks. Anything beyond 12 weeks, Minister, is no longer in line with the Act. It is something else. Maybe we need to deal with that "something else". I would not say it is murder, but we need to deal with it. Anything beyond 12 weeks is really outside the Act. Only a doctor can do a termination of pregnancy at his discretion after 12 weeks, because of medical reasons in regard to the patient.
The problem these days is that young women are becoming pregnant by men older than themselves. They decide to terminate their pregnancies long after 12 weeks, and they will have inherited the pregnancy, as well as HIV. The babies are born prematurely, because they accept any help that they can get. They are given pills to take by mouth and also those pills that need to be inserted, as well. They are told that once they go into labour, they should go to the hospital. They do so and they give birth to small babies. Some of these babies are born and then thrown away anywhere in the country, even in the streets. They are collected and taken to the hospital as premature babies. So the neonatal wards are full of these types of babies and most of the time the babies tend to die. That is the problem we have.
Attendance at antenatal clinics for pregnant women is supposed to commence at 14 weeks, so that the complications can be dealt with if diseases are detected early. For example, if there is anaemia, iron supplements will be given. If they are HIV-positive and have a low CD4 count of 350 or below, they will be started on antiretroviral drugs straight away. Where there is TB, TB treatment will be given. This is a way of trying to help the mother to deliver a healthy baby, and the baby at birth will be given nevirapine.
Deliveries taking place in health facilities will be increased from 88% to 95%. Postnatal care for mothers and babies, six days after delivery, will increase to 80%. Breastfeeding is being encouraged, so that babies get the best formula, because breast milk is the best formula.
We are now proposing the kangaroo method of warming the baby and keeping it warm. We put the baby between the mother's breasts so as to get it warm. Baby death in neonatal wards is a problem and it is being dealt with.
I think we need to go back to the basics and begin to revamp family planning, so that people plan their pregnancies. Family planning education should be given at schools as part of Life Orientation. It should be given at the workplace and in clinics, so that it becomes the norm, rather than the termination of pregnancy.
Before I conclude, Minister ... uyis'khokho mfana kithi. [... you are smart, my man.]
Everybody in this debate supports what you have said, and everybody agrees with the department - we are quite excited that hon Waters, for a change, is on our side! [Applause.]
Is it safe to say that TB is on the increase? Yes, TB is on the increase, because most people with HIV have not revealed their status. Therefore, with his or her high viral load, TB takes the opportunity to affect the person, and we have a high TB rate.
Hon Kganare, we were aware that you would be talking about the provinces, but we do have our counterparts in the NCOP and in the provinces. Provincial staff can be dealt with by dealing with the provincial representatives. We can even go to the MEC or CEOs to deal with such issues. Maybe hon Kganare should have been in the NCOP or the provincial legislature.
There is a problem with advertisements. We have advertisements for free termination of pregnancy, safe abortions, etc, available all over. We have advertisements of alcohol and of money loans. We have a whole range of advertisements. Minister, these will be knocking at your door before long. What must we as a country and as Parliament do? It is important that we begin to address this. It should not be addressed only by you and your department, Minister, but also by us as public representatives. Where do we go from here? I think a march should take place to deal with all these scourges, so that even if we do not reach the MDGs by 2015, we will still reach them in our lifetime. Thank you. [Applause.]