E Cape trainees head for Cuba
2007-10-01 19:07
Cape Town - A new batch of would-be doctors from the Eastern Cape are packing their bags for Cuba.
Provincial health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said on Monday the 25 students, selected from disadvantaged communities across the province, would be given an official farewell on Wednesday.
He said the provincial government had sent more than 80 young people to study medicine in Cuba since 1998.
About half a dozen had qualified and were now working in the province.
The new batch would spend five years studying in Cuba, with a special emphasis on primary health care, then do a sixth year at a South African university before undertaking their two-year internship and one-year community service.
They would be expected to work for the province in rural areas for six years, including the community service year.
Kupelo said the province would pay their air fares, tuition and board.
"They've done well academically but unfortunately because of financial constraints they could not afford tertiary education," he said.
The province is suffering a shortage of medical professionals, particularly in rural areas.
Kupelo said the group had spent the last four weeks undergoing "orientation" at Mdantsane's Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.
- SAPA