HEALTH & SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
INCLUSIVE QUALITY HEALTHCARE
Covid-19 has thrust healthcare and social wellness into the consciousness of the South African public, but the well-being of constituents has always been a concern for the City of Ekurhuleni. Alongside its Covid-19 response, informed by National Government, numerous ongoing City programmes address the general health and wellness of Ekurhuleni’s citizens.
T
he fight against the novel coronavirus is one that South Africa shares with the wider world, and progress is certainly being made through the roll-out of increasingly widespread vaccination drives. This is a fight for our health on many levels, including the health of the economy. It’s no secret that a city benefits tremendously from a healthy populace, which is one of the reasons why the City of Ekurhuleni is set on making consistent strides in improving the health and wellness of its citizens.
ENSURING QUALITY HEALTHCARE According to Executive Mayor Cllr
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EKURHULENI 2021
Mzwandile Masina, the City takes pride in the increased number of people accessing healthcare from its facilities. “As a matter of fact, a demonstration of a healthy community can only be derived from the decrease in the number of people seeking healthcare,” he affirmed in his 2020 State of the City Address, held in March, just as the novel coronavirus started taking root in South Africa. “It is our resolve as this administration that we need clear programmes that will encourage healthy living, notwithstanding the fact that we must forever strive to provide quality healthcare at any given time.” In realising the above, the City
continues to provide innovative ways to render primary healthcare services to its people. Among these is the introduction of what is essentially an ATM for chronic medication – the Pelebox, which has been deployed in various locations across Ekurhuleni, alongside 115 chronic medication pickup points. The Pelebox Smart Locker facility is the first and only one of its kind in Africa, with each locker expected to service over 1 000 patients requiring their chronic medication every month. These medicine collection interventions have revolutionised access to medication for over 170 000 patients in Ekurhuleni, while
