Bibliography

South Africa is a country with vast inequities in the distribution of income, in socioeconomic and health status and in access to key social services. Much of this inequity is attributable to the systematic dis-advantaging of certain race groups under apartheid. The post-apartheid government, under the leadership of the African National Congress, has committed itself to redressing these inequities. In a country such as South Africa where inequities are substantial, a vertical equity perspective, which prioritises human development benefits for the most dis-advantaged through the differential allocation of government resources, is arguably the most appropriate approach for effectively and speedily achieving equity gains. While the primary underlying concern of this research is that of reducing inequitable health status differentials within South Africa, it does not focus simply on the allocation of health care resources. This is partly due to the fact that health is influenced by a range of factors other than health services, and particularly that there is an internationally established relationship between deprivation (or relative social and material dis-advantage) and ill-health. In addition, the allocation of centrally collected government resources in South Africa takes the form of block grants to individual provinces, which themselves determine allocations to the health and other social sectors. It is, thus, necessary to take a broader perspective than purely health resource allocation issues.