The unanticipated costs of COVID-19 to South Africa's quadruple disease burden

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed and exacerbated pre-existing weaknesses in our healthcare system. Efficient and equitable allocation of resources is therefore critical, now more than ever. Unless we prioritise interventions that that are cost-effective and address the major challenges from both the demand side and the supply side, SA will experience increased mortality and morbidity from diseases that have been sidelined in favour of COVID-19. This outcome will obliterate hard-won improvements in life expectancy over the past decade, thwarting any chance of SA reaching its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. To avert this scenario, the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) Standing Committee on Health urges the National Department of Health: To engage a broad spectrum of stakeholders without delay To request evidence of the potential trade-offs and the consequent resource implications To promote a co-ordinated and collaborative funded research programme that encompasses multiple disciplines, both for understanding the health burden complexity and for breakthrough innovations in public health and healthcare.