Cuban trained South African Medical Doctors graduate
Issued by the National Department of Health
07 July 2005
Health Minister will give a keynote address at the 1st national graduation ceremony of 17 Cuban trained South African medical doctors as part of the government-to-government agreement between South Africa and Cuba, signed in 1995.
The gala event will be held at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine in Durban on Friday, 08 July 2005 at 6pm.
The students are now doing their medical internship at various public hospitals. They are expected to do their community service from January to December next year. As part of their 7-year bursary agreement with the National Department of Health, they will remain in the public service for the next five years, and; they will be deployed by their respective provinces to hospitals to underserved areas.
The students were recruited from previously disadvantaged and rural communities of KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and North West in 1999, and spent six years in Cuba. They studied Spanish and natural sciences in their first year, before doing medical training for five years.
After completing their training in Cuba in July 2003, they returned to South Africa to do their 6th final clinical year of medical training including rotation blocks. They received their training at Medunsa, Unitra, Nelson Mandela School of Medicine and University of Pretoria from January to December 2004. Thereafter, they sat for the National Final Cuban Theoretical Examinations. Seventeen have passed and one will repeat internal medicine.
Those who will graduate are Putuma Neka, Bongani Madikane, Mathemba Madikizela, Khanyisa Makamba, Andiswa Mtyobile and Lizo Ntshobane all from the Eastern Cape. Phindile Mabaso, Lindokuhle Mathenjwa and Samukelisiwe Sibeko all from KZN. Bheki Masango, Thobile Msithini and Esmon Shabalala all from Mpumalanga. Lucas Mosidi, Maalebogo Seipelo, Lesego Tsikwe, Precious Molefakgotla, Godisamang Kegakilwe and Thabo Rampai all from North West.
There are also 33 other medical students from Cuba who came back in July 2004, for their 6th final clinical year of medical training. We are expecting another 50 medical students by the end of this month, also to start their clinical medical training. A total of 403 students are presently in Cuba for medical studies and 20 are doing electro-medical engineering.
South Africa and Cuba also signed for other areas of cooperation such as; health research; health policy and programmes; biotechnology; vaccine production; pharmaceutical development; exchange programmes on health research, specialists and medical technology.