The Future

• It is understood that the current healthcare system in South Africa has not made many improvements since the apartheid, most especially toward people of color. Kon & Lackan (2008) suggest that "new consitutional regulations of equality and access to health care" must be put into place. The government is making strides to create a more equitable healthcare system, however the type they are moving toward, horizontal equity, "is not uniformly agreed upon at all levels of government" (Kon & Lackan, 2008). Horizontal equity, is when "equity is sought for those within the same socioeconomic level" (Kon & Lackan, 2008). Vertical equity should be considered instead, as it attempts "to pull up those in the lower socioeconomic levels and the disenfranchised" (Kon & Lackan, 2008). People of color will be provided with healthcare that they personally need for improved health and well-being if vertical equity is carried out.

• Quality care needs to be implemented in order for people of color to see an improvement in their health and well-being. To do so, Maphumulo & Bhengu (2019) suggest that the South African government must make "fewer errors, reduced delays in care delivery, improvement in efficiency, increased market share and lower cost."

• To care for poor communities, which often consist of people of color, the South African government should "abandon its role in healthcare provision and to instead purchase care... from private providers of their choice" (Biermann, 2022). This will make the private sector more approachable, and can be done by "funding directly through vouchers, smart cards, or contributions on their behalf to competing medical aid funds" (Biermann, 2022).

• The South African government is making efforts to create a National Health Insurance system. This system would initiate univeral health health coverage, and is aiming to "improve the nation’s health, make healthcare more affordable for everyone, and address inequalities between different socio-economic groups" (International Citizens Insurance, 2021), which imply acknowledging inequalities between people of color and the White population in South Africa.

• Although the public and private healthcare sectors and "medical aid schemes" will stay, the NHI has created a "blended model" of the two for South Africans to access (de Villiers, 2021). Inititially, it should benefit people of color by closing inequality gaps.

• According to de Villiers (2021), some of NHI's goals include promoting "healthcare reform to improve service provision and healthcare delivery for all socioeconomic groups, while also partnering with providers and organizations within the private sector in the delivery of healthcare" (de Villiers, 2021).

When looking at the future of HIV/AIDS, a big topic to think about is preventing the future spread.

• One way to help prevent the spread of HIV is by promoting the use of condoms and for doctors to stress the importance of them. Condoms can protect getting STDs or STIs. However, they are not always effective in keeping them away. Creating more sustainable programs to persuade people to change their dangerous sexual behaviors is something to consider.

• Antenatal care services should continue to test mothers for HIV. If a mother is tested positive for HIV then care needs to be provided to reduce the risk of the child being born with HIV. This will help keep the risk of spread down.

• Keeping South Africa's funds domestically instead of getting funds externally. This includes creating taxes specifically for HIV/ADIS treatment. Rwanda has managed to get HIV services into its national insurance scheme.

• Create more affordable prevention methods for the high risk populations.

These are all possible ideas of ways to keep the spread of HIV/AIDS down. These methods will need to be backed by the government and civil society, along with those living with AIDS, to be successful.

A recurring observation arose while we conducted our research. It was stunningly difficult to find concrete, case studies, articles, essays, etc that were specifically about or for people of color in South Africa. Many resources found were about the general South African population, without focusing on certain racial groups. This is very telling, as it indicates that there is room for improvement. There must be justice for people of color in the nation; their health and well-being deserves to be taken care of after effects from the apartheid have stripped them from basic needs. As Maphumulo, W., & Bhengu (2019) say, "South Africa has the potential to draw on its experiences of health inequalities and of the detrimental consequences of historical segregation to build high-quality service delivery for the benefit of all its citizens."