South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to sign into law a contentious national health bill that aims to provide universal coverage to millions of poor citizens.

The National Health Insurance (NHI) bill seeks to give South Africans of all races, rich or poor and legal long-term residents’ access to quality healthcare.

It was passed by lawmakers last year and is set to be implemented in stages at a cost of billions of dollars.

The opposition parties and civil society groups wanted the bill to be referred back to parliament, saying it was flawed in its current form.

The presidency said the bill will be signed into law.