HEALTH authorities were looking for ways to come up with lucrative packages to encourage people to work in rural areas, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Sunday. ”There are financial and other non-monetary incentives, including the improvement of working and living conditions, for our health workers in the rural areas that will be investigated,” Tshabalala-Msimang said in Johannesburg. ”We are taking all these measures to ensure that we improve the quality of care that we are providing to our people. Some of you have heard that funding for HIV/Aids programmes will be increased over the next three years.” The ceremony, called the Day for Health Care Providers, aims to recognise the role of health care providers in the country and for them to recommit themselves to the profession. ”This is the day we will always use to show that we care about our most valued assets — health workers,” Tshabalala-Msimang said. – Sapa