Public interest law center SECTION27 has expressed its approval of the amended policy to ensure free healthcare access for all pregnant mothers and young children.

This follows an order of the High Court in April where it upheld the right of all pregnant and lactating women, and children below the age of 6, to receive access to free healthcare services at all public health establishments, including hospitals, regardless of nationality and documentation status.

In 2022, the organisation brought forward a court application with two women who were denied access to free healthcare services, one who was pregnant and one whose child was under six.

The Minister of Health, the MEC and head of department for Gauteng Health and the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital all returned to court on Monday to report on compliance with the order. 

Counsel for the government respondents said there had been compliance with the display of posters indicating free health care services at all public health facilities.

“We welcome the amendments to the Policy, which not only ensures access to pregnant women and young children, as required by the court order, but also to place asylum seekers in the same position as refugees and South Africans. Previously, the position of asylum seekers was not clear, whereas the law requires that refugees and South Africans should be means tested to determine the extent to which they need to pay for health care services (other than services for pregnant and lactating women and young children),” the organisation said.

SECTION27 has noted that there were some facilities that had admitted to not displaying the posters despite claiming to have done so. The implicated facilities cited by the organisation include the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, Hillbrow Community Health Centre, Helen Joseph Hospital, South Rand Hospital, Kalafong Hospital, Thelle Mogoerane Hospital, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Steve Biko Hospital and the Berth Gxowa Hospital.

Gauteng Deputy Judge President Roland Sutherland gave the respondents until November 6 to report on the full compliance with the order and SECTION27 will have the opportunity to respond on November 13. Should compliance not be fulfilled, Sutherland will personally visit the hospitals in question to monitor compliance on November 20.

“SECTION27 welcomes the government’s substantial compliance with the court order. We had been concerned that posters had not been put up in hospitals, following two rounds of monitoring in August and October 2023. We addressed correspondence to the respondents, and it appears that, despite not responding to us, they took steps to remedy the non-compliance,” the organisation said.