South African health care in black and white

Since she was sworn in as Minister of Health after the first democratic elections in South Africa 4 years ago Nkosazana Zuma has been at the centre of controversy. Having completed her medical degree in exile at Bristol University, UK, her subsequent quest to change the face of the South African health system, skewed by decades of apartheid, seems to be succeeding. Her zeal and uncompromising spirit have earned her stalwart support from President Nelson Mandela, but she has also engendered ferocious criticism, not necessarily of her policies, but of her method of implementation and lack of planning and costing. More recently critics have voiced concern over new legislation that they say will give her the power to override statutory bodies and undermine the democratic process. Addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic, probably the biggest challenge to the healthcare system and the economy, has garnered further criticism for Zuma, and indeed the ruling African National Congress (ANC), for their interest in the further investigation of the experimental drug Virodene, promoted by its developers as a cure for AIDS. Since this interview took place, public disapproval is mounting in South Africa over her proposed plans to dissolve the Medicines Control Council and to close tertiary hospital beds.