Covid disruptions to health services worse in rural provinces, report finds
The coronavirus pandemic disrupted routine health services ranging from childhood immunisation to tuberculosis screening and exposed deep inequalities within SA’s health system
The coronavirus pandemic disrupted routine health services ranging from childhood immunisation to tuberculosis screening and exposed deep inequalities within SA’s health system, finds a new report from the Rural Health Advocacy Project (RHAP).
The SA government imposed a series of lockdowns in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which at its most restrictive shut down all but essential health services. At the same time, many people delayed seeking care for non-emergency conditions, either because they were unable to travel or out of fear they might contract the virus in a health facility. The disruptions to care were particularly marked in rural provinces, which are home to about one third of SA’s population, said the report’s author Samantha Maughan...
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