Rina Venter

Elizabeth Venter (born 9 December 1938), known as Rina Venter, was the Minister of National Health and Population Development of South Africa, from 1989 to 1994.[1]

Dr
Rina Venter
Minister of Health
In office
1989–1994
PresidentF. W. de Klerk
Preceded byWillie van Niekerk
Succeeded byNkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Personal details
Born
Elizabeth Venter

(1938-12-09) 9 December 1938

Venter graduated from Pretoria University and was a social worker for 20 years.[2] She served in the National Party government of F. W. de Klerk,[3] and was the first woman in South African history to hold a cabinet post.[4] She retired from politics in 1994.

Desegregation

On 17 May 1990, Venter announced that South Africa's health system would begin desegregation. South Africa's 240 state hospitals became available to all races, although with less-than-optimal implementation.[5][6][7][8][9]

Anti-tobacco

Under pressure from opposition political parties, Venter publicly committed in 1991 to investigate tobacco legislation. The Apartheid government had vested interests in the tobacco industry, and would therefore be reluctant to introduce restrictions, so she enlisted the help of the civil society Tobacco Action Group, in order to bolster media and public support for anti-smoking efforts.

After consulting with pro- and anti-tobacco lobbyists, Venter decided to introduce the Control of Smoking and Advertising of Tobacco Products Draft Bill, which would give her the power to restrict smoking in certain public places, would make it an offense to sell cigarettes to people under 16, and would further introduce restrictions such as health warnings on advertisements for tobacco products.[10]

The bill reemerged in 1992 as the Tobacco Products Control Bill, and was delayed until 1993 by the government. It was finally approved by Parliament on 17 June 1993.[11][12]

Venter received recognition for her work to curb tobacco use with an award by the American Cancer Society.[13]

HIV/AIDS

Her department formulated a comprehensive and detailed plan for responding to the nascent AIDS pandemic, which was however hampered by lack of funding.[4][8] She has criticized her successors for abandoning this plan.[14][15]

References
  1. Vlok, Marie E. (1991). Manual of Nursing. Vol. 1 (9th ed.). Cape Town: Juta. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7021-2521-8.
  2. Allen, Bruce (1 December 1991). "Dr Rina Venter, Minister of National Health and Population Development". insurance-times.net. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  3. Sidley, Pat (18 July 2012). "South Africa's shattered healthcare dreams". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  4. Meyer, Jani (10 October 2004). "The AIDS plan that never saw light of day". Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  5. "South Africa Ends Apartheid in Hospitals". The Baltimore Sun. 17 May 1990. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  6. Reed, Jack (16 May 1990). "South African government unveils plan to scrap hospital apartheid". United Press International. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  7. "S. Africa to Integrate Hospitals". Los Angeles Times. Times Wire Service. 16 May 1990. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  8. Meyer, Melissa; Fourie, Pieter (2013). The Politics of AIDS Denialism: South Africa's Failure to Respond. Ashgate Publishing. p. 175. ISBN 9781409499992.
  9. Ottaway, Marina (1993). South Africa: the struggle for a new order. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-8157-6716-9.
  10. Keller, Bill (2 June 1994). "Cape Town Journal; In Land of Smokers, Mandela Heads Resistance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  11. de Beyer, Joy; Waverley Brigden, Linda, eds. (2003). Tobacco Control Policy: Strategies, Successes, and Setbacks. World Bank Publications. pp. 127–136. ISBN 9780821354025.
  12. Bateman, Chris (February 2009). "Quit Smoking Remedies Hot Favourites for EDL". South African Medical Journal. 99 (2): 86. PMID 19418665.
  13. "Health department gets tobacco award". hst.org.za. 31 July 2000. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  14. Meyer, Jani (10 October 2004). "The Aids plan that never saw light of day". IOL. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  15. "Nat minister 'surprised' by Manto's claim". The Star. 24 November 2005. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
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