For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: Solidarity says court judgment major breakthrough in NHI fight; DA welcomes Climate Change Act; And, Children at risk as mpox variant hits Congo displacement camps

Solidarity says court judgment major breakthrough in NHI fight

Solidarity noted today that it has achieved a major breakthrough in its fight against the proposed National Health Insurance when a core pillar on which the State’s centralisation of healthcare rests was declared unconstitutional in the High Court.

The court ruled that Certificates of Need in the National Health Act sections 36 to 40, in which the government would have the power to determine where medical practitioners may practise, are “invalid” in their entirety.

The ruling will go to the Constitutional Court for confirmation.

Solidarity Chief Executive Dr Dirk Hermann said as a result of this specific case brought to court by it and other applicants, the controversial certificates of need have been crossed out. 

Solidarity highlighted that in its current format the NHI cannot be implemented, as central planning is an important factor, “and this has now been found unconstitutional”.

Hermann noted that according to the court judgment, the Health Department must also bear Solidarity’s and the other parties’ costs.

DA welcomes Climate Change Act

The Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape said it is looking forward to the development of the regulations which will guide the rollout and implementation of the Climate Change Act.

On Tuesday President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the much anticipated Act, which sets out a national climate change response, including mitigation and adaptation actions.

The Act also constitutes South Africa’s fair contribution to the global climate change response.

The Presidency highlighted that the Climate Change Act enabled the alignment of policies that influenced South Africa’s climate change response, to ensure that South Africa’s transitioned to a low carbon and climate resilient economy and society was not constrained by policy contradictions.

DA Western Cape Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning spokesperson Dave Bryant explained that members of the DA in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament and various municipalities were integrally involved in the development of the legislation through the submission of comments and recommendations, as well as attendance at public hearings.

Bryant said the final version of the Bill was unanimously supported by the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.

And, Children at risk as mpox variant hits Congo displacement camps

Scars from the mpox pustules are still visible on 7-year old Grace Kabuo’s face, as well as on a handful of her playmates at a camp for displaced people near Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Grace has otherwise recovered from the virus. Her mother Denise Kahindo says she is still unsure how her daughter was infected earlier this month.

She said she just helplessly noticed the symptoms on her body.

For disease experts, a new concern about mpox, which was first identified over 50 years ago has come about by a new variant that appears to be more capable of transmitting between people than previous strains.

Local doctors say they have seen 130 suspected mpox cases, almost entirely in children and adolescents, in the last four weeks at a nearby facility that treats displaced people from the camps in the last four weeks.

Dr Pierre-Olivier Ngadjole, a medical advisor for charity Medair, which is helping with treating and transporting patients from the camp near Goma to the nearby medical center in Munigi, says 50% of the 130 cases are even less than five years old. An estimated 750 000 people have fled to the area due to fighting between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese government.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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