Provincial restructuring

At the time of the 1994 elections; public health services were largely outside of democratic control. Segregation and racial discrimination were institutionalised; services offered to marginalised groups including women; HIV patients and rural blacks were discriminatory and stagnant. This article looks at the position of the provincial health departments; sandwiched between the national Department of Health and multiple local government health departments. It also examines the challenges that are faced by these provincial health departments as they try to transform the delivery system of health services in South Africa