The National Department of Health sets health policy and oversees the public health system in South Africa. The contact details below were read from the department’s contact page on 2 September 2026.
Official contact channels
- National Health Hotline: 0800 029 999 – free, 24/7, in five languages
- Health hotline email: [email protected] · WhatsApp: 0600 123 456
- Head office switchboard: 012 395 8000
- General enquiries: [email protected]
- Anti-corruption hotline: 0800 701 701
A caution about one number. The department’s site banner labels 0800 012 322 as the “national helpline”, but its own detailed contact block identifies that number as the AIDS Helpline and gives the National Health Hotline as 0800 029 999. If you want general health information, 0800 029 999 is the line.
Services and responsibilities
The department runs several dedicated toll-free helplines, each for a different need:
- AIDS Helpline: 0800 012 322
- Mental Health Information Line: 0800 567 567
- Children’s Cancer Helpline: 0800 333 555
It also publishes outbreak information on cholera, Covid, foodborne disease, HPV, influenza, listeriosis, malaria, measles, mpox, rabies and typhoid.
The national department does not run clinics or hospitals. Those are provincial responsibilities, so a complaint about treatment, waiting times or staff at a specific facility belongs first with that facility’s manager and then the provincial health department. Sending it to Pretoria adds a step.
Office and address information
Head office: Dr AB Xuma Building, 1112 Voortrekker Road, Pretoria Townlands 351-JR, Pretoria, 0187. Postal: Private Bag X828, Pretoria, 0001. Tel 012 395 8000.
Office of the Minister operates from two cities, following the parliamentary calendar:
- Cape Town: Private Bag X9070, Cape Town, 8000. Tel 021 466 7260, fax 021 465 1575
- Pretoria: Private Bag X828, Pretoria, 0001. Tel 012 395 8086, fax 012 395 9165
- Email: [email protected]
Office of the Director-General: Private Bag X828, Pretoria, 0001. Tel 012 395 9150, [email protected] for appointments.
Applications and escalation
Escalate a facility complaint in order: the facility manager, then the provincial health department, then the national department in writing. Keep dates, names and the facility file number.
Report fraud or corruption in the health system on the anti-corruption hotline, 0800 701 701.
If the department does not resolve a matter, maladministration by a state body goes to the Public Protector, and denial of access to health care – a constitutional right – can be taken to the South African Human Rights Commission. Complaints about a doctor, nurse or other practitioner’s professional conduct go to the Health Professions Council of South Africa or the relevant statutory council, not to the department.
Sources
- health.gov.za contact page, read 2 September 2026