A large cohort of newly qualified South African medical doctors who recently completed their studies at Cuban universities as part of the Nelson Mandela/Fidel Castro Medical Programme is expected to graduate on Friday.
The graduation ceremony will be led by the National Department of Health in collaboration with iYunivesithi Walter Sisulu (formerly known as Walter Sisulu University) and the Universities of Medical Sciences of the Republic of Cuba in East London.
The event is expected to be attended by several dignitaries, including representatives from the Cuban Embassy in South Africa, the university’s leadership, and the families of the graduates.
This year marks 30 years since the programme was introduced in 1996, during which more than 3,200 medical doctors have successfully completed their studies.
Speaking on YOU FM’s Newshour, Department of Health spokesperson Foster Mohale said the programme was introduced by former Presidents Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro to strengthen South Africa’s public healthcare sector and enhance human resource capacity, disease profiling and health equity across the country.
“Some of these doctors who have recently completed their studies are already working in various healthcare facilities across the country, in line with the agreement they signed stating that, upon completing their studies, they would be deployed to their respective communities.
“As you know, this programme mainly targets prospective students from previously disadvantaged, rural and working-class communities who lack access to traditional medical school scholarships, enabling them to further their studies at Cuban universities,” said Mohale.
“The main aim is to address the shortage of medical doctors in South Africa’s underserved and previously disadvantaged communities, thereby strengthening the country’s healthcare system to respond to the healthcare needs of the population,” Mohale added.
In addition, Mohale said the department would continue advocating for the employment of a greater number of unemployed doctors in the country.
“We have consistently appealed to the National Treasury to consider increasing our budget so that we can absorb more of these doctors.
“We work closely with the National Treasury and provincial treasuries to emphasise that, when allocating budgets, they should take this into consideration. The only way we can address poverty and unequal access to quality healthcare is by employing as many doctors and other healthcare professionals as possible,” Mohale explained.
Since 2018, the programme has produced more than 600 medical doctors, a milestone that exceeds South Africa’s local annual production of medical doctors.
