Nurses initiative helps make a difference in various communities
With International Nurses' Day coming up on May 12, we reached out to Unjani Clinic, which is owned and managed by nurses who provide accessible, affordable and quality healthcare to communities in low-income areas of South Africa.
THIS year’s International Nurses’ Day theme is ‘Nurses Make the Difference’, and Caxton Local Media Durban reached out to Unjani Clinic, which is an initiative aimed at empowering Black women to become professional nurses, creating permanent jobs and perfecting a sustainable clinic model for providing primary healthcare.
International Nurses’ Day is celebrated annually on May 12, the anniversary of the founder of modern-day nursing, Florence Nightingale’s birthday.
Unjani Clinic CEO Lynda Toussaint said the concept was developed out of the need for urgent transformation in the healthcare system in South Africa.
Also read: MEC of Health urge nurses to go back to basics
“[Urgent transformation is needed because of ] the fact that our country faces the triple affliction of HIV, Aids and TB and the fact that more than 80% of our population are dependent on an overburdened public system and a costly curative-care based model versus disease prevention and promotion.”
There are currently 197 care settings (181 clinics plus two mobile clinics and 14 Health Pods) operating nationally in the Unjani Clinic Network. Enterprise Development Funding from various partners has allowed us to achieve the current network.
Founded on an owner-operator model and social franchising principles, Toussaint said their clinics serve the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ and under-served markets, ensuring an affordable, quality primary healthcare service and the supply of quality medicines to the people of South Africa.
“The clinics are based in the communities of our country ensuring that the service is delivered at the point of need. Our focus is on the employed uninsured population of South Africa (some 12 to 15 million people).
According to Toussaint, this portion of the population can afford to pay something towards their healthcare needs but are unable to afford private medical aid or private GP / healthcare practitioner rates.
Also read: Pregnant mom in labor dances with nurses
“By providing an affordable alternative (R300 consultation fee, including medication to treat the diagnosis) to this portion of the population, we aim to assist the Department of Health in capacity building, by drawing these patients away from the government facilities and freeing up capacity for government to deal with the unemployed portion of our population,” she said.
To date, the Unjani Clinics have empowered more than 150 professional ‘nurse-preneurs’, created permanent employment for more than 680 people, deployed more than 139 Youth Employment Service (YES) and Health Promotion Officer (HPO) learners into the network, and provided more than 4 750 000 quality, affordable consultations through the Unjani Clinic.
She added that their goal is to have 600 care settings by 2032.
For more from Berea Mail, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.
