Public health experts caution that more detail is needed about how an extra R23 billion allocated to the Department of Health by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his 2023 Budget will be used to employ health workers and improve services, while also warning that a smaller overall health budget will lead to poor people having access to fewer public health services.

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that R23-billion had been set aside to cover the shortfall in compensation budgets in the health sector and to improve public health services.

"In health, the funds are to hire new staff, address shortfalls in compensation budgets, retain additional health workers appointed during the pandemic, and clear the backlog in health services," Godongwana said.

According to a written answer provided in October 2022 by the Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, 16,070 clinical posts and 4,764 administrative posts were vacant in South Africa's public health system. These included funded and unfunded posts.

But while Godongwana announced an extra allocation for health posts, the department's overall budget has still shrunk.

In 2021, Treasury instituted massive reductions to the health budget, and the extra money in the new Budget will fail to offset these...