Of the two curative systems, the conventional system imparted measurably higher cure rates.
In the health sector, the emphasis had been on establishing a hospital-based, curative healthcare system, with a specialized disease control approach, rather than a community-based public health approach.
Moreover, it points to the fact that risk perception always depends on the available possibilities to counter specific threats, such as the availability of a high quality curative health system [ 25].
Not surprisingly, therefore, there also remain major holes in health care provision, for which vertical disease-specific programmes have often been implemented as a poor substitute for genuinely comprehensive preventive and curative health systems.
It remains strong but its significance is somewhat diminished, especially with respect to the maintenance of a quality (curative) health care system with timely access for all.
This imbalance in health care delivery, together with a curative driven health system; lack of commitment to preventive and promotive services; and ineffective leadership, will ensure that health inequalities and unmet health need will persist [ 7- 9].
Inspired by Brazil, South Africa's Health Ministry is reforming post-apartheid a curative-oriented health system – engaging more in what has been referred to as re-engineering of PHC (29).
The new South African government came to power in 1994 and embarked on a systematic process of health sector reform, moving away from a hospital-centred curative-based health system to one based on the Primary Health Care PHCC) approach.
As of January 2006, a new insurance system for curative healthcare came into force in the Netherlands.
This also has the undesirable consequence of focusing the health system on curative rather than preventative health care services.
