The Western Cape health department is trialling an incentive scheme that will reward participants for healthy choices such as vaccinating their children or taking up regular exercise.
The pilot programme, launched at the weekend in Mitchells Plain, draws on South African private sector experience and public sector programmes in other countries, such as Brazil’s Bolsa Família. Health and life insurer Discovery pioneered the behavioural science programme Vitality, which has been shown to cut healthcare costs by rewarding healthy lifestyle choices. Bolsa familia provides conditional cash transfers to poor families that require them to enrol their children in school and ensure they are up to date with their immunisations.
“We’re trying to encourage healthy behaviour, healthy eating habits and healthy food choices,” said Western Cape department of health and wellness COO Saadiq Kariem. Individuals would benefit from improved quality of life, while preventing illness would save the government money, he said.
Participants in the WOWRewards programme can earn up to R100 a month in food vouchers from the digital platform Zlto, which can be redeemed at retail partners such as Boxer, Shoprite and Pep. The vouchers are restricted to food, so participants cannot use them to buy alcohol or cigarettes, said Kariem.
But there are plans to expand the rewards programme and talks are under way with Cape Nature to explore the scope for participants to earn vouchers for access to its nature reserves, he said.
The Western Cape health department conducted a survey among more than 1,500 people to determine where to launch the pilot programme and which rewards to offer. Contrary to expectations, regardless of income, survey participants expressed little interest in electricity and airtime vouchers, voting instead for healthy food and more exercise opportunities, he said.
‘Prevention is better than cure’
Westridge in Mitchells Plain was selected for the first pilot site as interest in the scheme was particularly strong in this community, said Kariem. The programme will be expanded to Knysna in early 2027 and aims to enrol 2,000 adults across the two sites so researchers can evaluate in urban and rural settings.
“Prevention is better than cure, but making healthy choices is not always easy. We want to give people a little extra encouragement to take steps that can make a lasting difference to their health,” said Western Cape minister of health and wellness Mireille Wenger.
Participants will be rewarded for completing activities that are relevant to their personal or family circumstances. These include taking part in approved community exercise sessions or ParkRun events, weight monitoring, collecting prescribed chronic medicine on time, completing a short programme on pregnancy and newborn care, and making sure children are up to date with their vaccinations.
The Western Cape’s recent outbreaks of diptheria and measles were due to a drop in immunisation coverage and the growing number of “zero dose” babies who had not received a single vaccination by the age of one, said Kariem. “It’s a time bomb waiting to explode,” he said.
Business Day
Tamar Kahn
www.businessday.co.za