The term “apartheid” was first used by Afrikaners to describe their policy of racial segregation and discrimination against non-white peoples living in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Implementing apartheid was a coordinated effort by the National Party, which ruled South Africa from 1948 to 1994, and successive Afrikaner governments. Apartheid’s first goal was to create a dominant white minority group within an independent country by dividing its people into four racial categories: white, black, coloured (mixed race), and Asian. Apartheid also sought to maintain these divisions within the country’s borders through a variety of measures including forced relocation, exclusion laws governing who could live where and hold what jobs, banning interracial marriage and sex between different groups, and the imprisonment of political opponents.
The effects of apartheid on the health care system in South Africa are still being felt today. The unequal distribution of resources and the lack of access to quality health care because of racial discrimination have resulted in a higher prevalence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. These diseases which were once confined to specific geographic areas now affect all races and classes.
