TO: ALL MEDIA
DATE: 26 OCTOBER 2009
EMBARGO: NONE

THE MEC FOR HEALTH TO MONITOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE JOINT CLUSTER FLAGSHIP PROGRAMME IN AMAJUBA DISTRICT

The MEC for Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, will tomorrow visit the Amajuba District Municipality to champion the implementation of the Joint Cluster Flagship Programme.

The Joint Cluster Flagship Programme is a provincial government’s intervention to create healthy and sustainable communities through a multi-pronged approach involving all government departments. It is aimed at responding to the highest disease burden associated with underdevelopment and poverty in the province, crime and women and youth underdevelopment.

During 2009/10 it targets 700 wards with service packages; the first 57 poorest wards to receive comprehensive services, those ranked 58 – 400 will receive a batch of services according to needs and the remainder will receive less intense service packages.

The first initiative on this programme was a call by the Premier to the people of KwaZulu-Natal to plant food gardens in their households (One Home, One Garden!) to ensure that no person goes to sleep without a meal. Other programmes are aimed at disease management (e.g. improving treatment adherence), creating sustainable human settlements, increasing participation in sports and recreational activities, improving priority skills base, increasing the spirit of activism and patriotism to decrease incidents of all social ills and ensuring that youth and women participate in the provincial economic activities.

All MEC are deployed as champions in the various district municipalities to ensure that this programme is implemented. Dr Dhlomo, MEC for Health, together with the Head of the Department of Social Development (Mr. BL Nkosi) will be visiting the district of Amajuba where he is a champion, and the various projects already underway.

The media is invited to be part of the MEC’s visits to take place as follows;

DATE : 27 OCTOBER 2009
TIME : 09H00 (SEE ATTACHED PROGRAMME)

ENDS

ISSUED BY:
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
083 285 0567