The Eastern Cape and North West provinces failed to repair damaged public health facilities following previous severe weather events – a failure that now has deadly consequences. Of the 142 facilities across seven provinces that suffered rain damage, these two provinces stand out for their inability to restore them within a reasonable timeframe. This excludes any additional facilities that may have been affected by the recent floods.
More than 100 people have already lost their lives in the Eastern Cape floods, including 37 children, and the death toll is expected to rise. In the aftermath of such a disaster, it is critical that public health facilities are fully functional, safe, and sanitary to care for survivors. The failure to repair existing damage compromises the province’s ability to respond to this growing humanitarian crisis.
This was revealed by the Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, in answer to a written parliamentary question from the DA.
The Eastern Cape and North West have failed to repair 17 and 29 health facilities respectively – both citing budget delays as the reasons for failing to repair their hospitals and clinics. As Mpumalanga failed to submit its report, the state of repair of its 16 damaged health facilities, damaged by rain between 2023/24 and 2024/25 are yet to be determined. No damages were reported by the Free State and Northern Cape.
South Africa’s provinces, especially the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, are regularly hit with storms that cause immense damage to infrastructure and result in the death and the displacement of residents. Regular maintenance and repair to health facilities must be a priority to ensure that victims of environmental disasters, and other patients, are given the best possible health care and that public health personnel can focus on providing treatment without worrying about the hazardous conditions in which they have to work.
The DA will continue to ask questions and conduct oversights to keep the national and provincial departments of health accountable.