Five political parties have pledged to work together in the government of national unity -- but what does this mean for the future of the National Health Insurance Act? We asked some experts.

Now that South Africa has a government of national unity (GNU), with all five parties that signed the agreement supporting the idea of universal access to healthcare in their election manifestos - although only two, the ANC and Good, outright support the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act as the route to get there - implementation of the NHI is likely to become even trickier than before the elections.

Universal access to healthcare means providing the same healthcare to everyone in the country, regardless of whether someone can pay for it.

Four parties have joined the ANC in the new GNU: the DA, IFP, Good and the Patriotic Alliance (PA). Collectively they represent 273 seats (68%) in the National Assembly.

Before the elections, the DA, for one, wanted the NHI Act to be dropped and told its voters the party had its own plan for how to get to universal health coverage. The IFP voted against the NHI Bill in Parliament and, although Good doesn't directly refer to the NHI in its election manifesto, the party voted for the Bill in the National Assembly.

"NHI is a form of universal healthcare,...