When it comes to the improvement of our healthcare industry in South Africa, there are many aspects that need to be attended to ensure the success of this industry. Road and transport infrastructure are among the many aspects that need to be attended to, and in this article, we will take a look at how improving our road infrastructure can benefit the healthcare sector.
Employment Opportunities
Improvement projects are amazing investments because they offer many people jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities. With a lot of regions in South Africa in dire need of better roadwork and access to transportation, this opens employment opportunities for many. The National Treasury and the South African government have been hard at work making sure that road infrastructure work happens.
Road infrastructure plays a critical role in South Africa's economy. It makes it possible to transport goods and services, but it also enables movement for people to gain access to basic healthcare. People can seek employment (also in the healthcare industry) without the obstacle of poor road infrastructure, a major problem in rural areas.
Access To Healthcare Education
Better roads do not work only for the healthcare industry but instead ripples into more aspects. For example, many people in rural areas struggle to gain access to school and education due to the distance and unsafe roads. Infrastructure development will help many young people get to school and afford school transportation ideas a chance to be in business too. Another investment opportunity would be to build more healthcare training facilities, especially in these impoverished areas, so more and more young people are inspired to educate themselves on how to become the next healthcare providers.
The Road To Infrastructure Development Is Paved With Challenges
Rural areas in South Africa often fall victim to climate change aftermaths, poverty, patriarchy and more. There is already a need to have structures that are designed to curb rural areas' challenges. Because there is not much access to municipalities, many residents end up becoming the heroes of their own towns. While it is encouraging and inspiring to see people take the initiative of curbing their communities’ challenges, they need help. And development finance institutions, private sectors and some public sector industries are helping in facilitating and investing in ways to make infrastructure development better.
Challenges such as mismanagement of funds and project facilitation can be curbed with structures such as organisations designed to audit and hold leaders accountable. Hiring locals to work on most projects (and not just on the infrastructure, but management and admin too) will also help in seeing the success of these projects.
Who Else Benefits From Infrastructure Development?
Bettering our roads will also influence the transport industry as much as the health sector, if not more. This will mean that many people will have access to transport for work, schools, and business, plus there is an open opportunity to involve more women and girls in the different careers that will emerge from the development projects.
Speaking of women and girls, Road Infrastructure Development will also help in creating a space for women and girls to not only feel safe but also tap into careers that involve science, technology, construction, and healthcare. This works full circle and builds not only a community but also the community's economy.
Socio-Economic Benefits
With the new normal having settled in, a lot of business opportunities are forming for many people, especially in Africa. There are many unemployed people in South Africa, which has been a struggle even before the Covid-19 pandemic, and infrastructure development can help change the economy around by offering those people entrepreneurship opportunities.
Final Words
The healthcare system in South Africa may have many other challenges, such as human resources, equipment, and technology, but fixing the ailing one at a time puts us in a better position to be able to curb all of them. Development finance institutions such as DBSA are helping in ensuring that many people gain access to better and sustainable economic structures through infrastructure funding projects.