COSATU: Foreign health funding must build clinics, not pay salaries

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is advocating for foreign donor funding in healthcare to be utilised for infrastructure development rather than paying the salaries of health workers.

COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, Matthew Parks, argued that while funding eventually ceases, developing infrastructure such as clinics will provide a lasting benefit long after the years of donor support have ended.

Parks made COSATU's submission during public hearings into the Special Appropriation Bill.

The Bill aims to allocate R754 million to address a funding shortfall in the Department of Health. This deficit was caused by the withdrawal of U.S. donor funds previously earmarked for HIV/AIDS programs.

"If we receive any in the future, we welcome it, but we recommend in the future if we receive such aid, whoever it's from, let it go towards funding infrastructure like a clinic, like a hospital or ambulances so that when the funding comes to an end, because ultimately it will come to an end, we shouldn't use it for salaries."