MEDPOLICYMPGPWCKZNECLPNWFSNC SAnews.gov.za
Government has confirmed that NHI implementation will formally incorporate traditional health practitioners, requiring new regulatory frameworks for quality assurance, safety, and procurement integration. This represents a significant expansion of the public health procurement scope beyond conventional Western medicine.
Creates an entirely new procurement category for traditional health services and products, affecting how universal health coverage contracts will be structured and bid
Government formally committed to integrating traditional medicine into NHI procurement systems with regulatory frameworks for quality and safety
This expands the SA public procurement market to include a historically informal sector, requiring new evaluation criteria, adjudication expertise, and contract management approaches across all provincial health departments and the future NHI Fund.
Traditional health practitioners, herbal medicine manufacturers, and complementary health service providers should monitor for accreditation criteria, registration requirements, and pilot procurement programmes. Companies with quality-assured traditional medicine products or practitioner network management capabilities will be first movers.
Future tenders will require compliance with yet-to-be-finalised traditional medicine regulations, including safety standards, practitioner registration, and product quality assurance. Early engagement with regulatory development is critical.
Excerpt reproduced for context. Tenders SA analysis is based on this public source. Read the full article at SAnews.gov.za.
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