National Treasury of South Africa

There will only be 1 intern selected for this position.

Please Note: This internship is co-sponsored. This means the funding for this internship is provided by two institutions at Harvard. The Primary Affiliation is with the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), and the Secondary Affiliation is with the IOP. The primary institute (HGHI) will be the point of contact during the application and internship onboarding process.

Program Type

International

Organization Name

National Treasury of South Africa

Internship Location

Pretoria, South Africa

Organization

The National Treasury of South Africa is responsible for managing the country’s national government finances and ensuring transparency, accountability, and sound financial controls in public financial management. Its mandate is established under Chapter 13 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and the Public Finance Management Act.

The National Treasury plays a central role in promoting economic development, good governance, and social progress by coordinating macroeconomic policy, managing the national budget process, overseeing intergovernmental fiscal relations, and supporting equitable service delivery. Over the next decade, priorities include strengthening health systems, reducing poverty and inequality, and improving efficiency in public service delivery.

This internship supports the National Treasury’s Health Directorate, which focuses on health financing, National Health Insurance (NHI) reform, budget formulation and execution, and public financial management within the health sector.

Position Overview

The National Treasury Health Directorate Internship provides students with exposure to public-sector health financing and policy at the national level. Interns will support analytical and policy-related work connected to health budgets, expenditure monitoring, and health system efficiency reforms, including those related to National Health Insurance.

Project Details

Intern projects may include:
• Supporting analysis related to National Health Insurance reforms
• Analyzing health expenditure and performance data to identify inefficiencies
• Reviewing budget requests and proposals from the National Department of Health
• Contributing to policy analysis and briefing materials for health financing initiatives

The Health Directorate’s core areas of work include:
• Budget analysis and planning
• Expenditure monitoring and financial management
• Health policy analysis, including NHI
• Cross-cutting support to health-related public finance work within National Treasury

Intern Responsibilities

Interns will:
• Assist with quantitative and policy analysis related to health financing
• Support budget formulation and execution processes
• Analyze health expenditure and performance data
• Contribute to policy research and internal reports
• Support the Health Directorate’s broader public financial management activities

Qualifications

Essential:
• Undergraduate or graduate-level coursework in economics, public policy, global health, or a related field
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills
• Understanding of health systems and health policy
• Ability to analyze data and synthesize findings into clear recommendations

Preferred:
• Background in health economics or public finance
• Familiarity with health financing and public financial management
• Experience with data analysis related to health systems or policy
• Interest in government, public-sector reform, and health equity

Learning Outcomes

• Develop practical understanding of public financial management in health
• Gain exposure to national-level health financing and budget processes
• Build skills in health policy and expenditure analysis
• Strengthen quantitative analysis and policy research competencies
• Understand the role of fiscal policy in advancing health equity and system efficiency

Nature of Internship

Health Financing and Health Policy

Keywords

Data Analysis; Health Equity; Health Systems Strengthening; Health Policy; Public Financial Management

Additional Onboarding for Selected Intern(s)

• Orientation to National Treasury systems and processes
• Introduction to Health Directorate priorities and ongoing policy initiatives
• Assignment to specific analytical and policy support tasks within the directorate

Work Environment

In-Person (Pretoria-based)
• Office-based work within the National Treasury
• Potential exposure to policy meetings, budget reviews, and analytical briefings
• Research-oriented role with applied policy and finance components