**12. Public health lip service?**

Both the population based and individual based strategies above, are focussing mainly on treatment rather than prevention. Why wait for the population to fall sick? Simple, cost effective and culturally adapted behaviour and educational interventions rather needed (**Figure 2**) [23].

Health of the population should be protected- a central tenet of public health. The health care in SA is hospicentric rather than preventive and promotive. Only 10% of health expenditure is spent on promotive health? The system seems to foster the idea that people should get ill first before being assisted.

Step 1: Health is an asset -acknowledgement and identification of that).

Step 2: Health needs to be preserved.

Step 3: Health gives us access to everything else in the society, education, jobs, security etc.

**Figure 2.** *We are waiting for people to fall sick as depicted below.*
