HIV/Aids research funding bolstered

Government will allocate some R410 million over the medium term to offset the funding gap in research left after the withdrawal of funding by the United States.

This according to the National Treasury’s 2026 Budget Review released alongside the Budget Speech on Wednesday.

“Over the medium term, R410 million will be reprioritised from the Department of Health to the South African Medical Research Council to offset research grant funding withdrawn by the United States.

“This allocation forms part of a co-funding arrangement with global donors to sustain key HIV/AIDS research programmes,” the department said.

Overall spending on health will grow by some 4.2% to R334.3 billion in 2028/29.

“Primary healthcare, delivered through district health services, provides the most accessible and cost-effective care and 44.4% of the health budget is allocated to this.

“Compensation of employees continues to constitute the largest share of the health budget at 64.6%. Government seeks to enhance efficiency in this area through better management of commuted overtime and rural allowances,” the review read.

An advisory committee has been appointed by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to recommend “amendments to key human resources policies and practices”.

“These and other savings measures will enable the sector to reprioritise funds to deal with existing pressures and respond to emerging service delivery needs and priorities.

“[Some] R24 million is reprioritised over the MTEF period towards the Office of Health Standards Compliance to enable it to fill critical posts and increase the number of health facility inspections conducted each year,” the review said. 

Education and training

Meanwhile, National Treasury announced that a review of the national skills ecosystem will be undertaken in the coming year.

“The skills development levy paid by employers funds the sector education and training authorities and the National Skills Fund to provide skills development and training. Levy income is projected to be R88.2 billion over the 2026 MTEF period.

“These institutions are struggling to deliver the skills required to drive economic growth. The National Treasury has commissioned the Government Technical Advisory Centre to conduct a comprehensive review of the national skills ecosystem in the year ahead,” Treasury said.

Post-school education and training will receive an allocation of R155.8 billion for the 2026/27 financial year.

“The National Student Financial Aid Scheme will spend R54.3 billion in 2026/27 to provide bursaries to enable 744 203 poor and academically deserving students to access universities and technical and vocational education and training colleges,” the budget review said.

Basic education has been allocated some R358.6 billion during the same period.

“The National School Nutrition Programme provides meals to over 9.9 million learners in 19 800 schools. Allocations to the programme grow by 4.5 per cent to R33.9 billion over the medium term and have not been adjusted for the lower inflation outlook given that food price inflation is higher than the overall inflation rate.

“Expenditure on early childhood development increases from R12.2 billion in 2025/26 to R18 billion over the medium term. This will enable early childhood development services to be expanded to an additional 300 000 children,” Treasury noted. – SAnews.gov.za