Members of the media are invited to attend a press conference following Dr Molefi Sefularo's two weeks trip to Cuba, Washington DC and London to address policy-related issues with regard to medical curriculum, readiness for the World Cup and quality standards for the health sector.
Cuba:
The Deputy Minister attended a joint meeting of South Africa-Cuban Deans of Medical Schools, the first of its kind. He was accompanied by a number of Deans of Medical Faculties from South Africa.
The purpose was to discuss the integration of South African (SA) medical students who are studying in Cuba but do their final year and internship programme in South Africa. The meeting was a result of concerns by SA Deans about the said student's limited clinical exposure while in Cuba, which impact negatively on their integration into the SA medical fraternity.
The universities which are involved in the training of the said students are Limpopo, Pretoria, Wits, Nelson Mandela, University of Cape Town (UCT), Stellenbosch and Walter Sisulu.
Since its inception in 1997, the SA-Cuban programme has produced 246 doctors. 80 scholarships a year are awarded to learners from poor families. 354 are currently studying in Cuba.
Washington DC:
The Deputy Minister in Washington addressed members of the esteemed corporate council on Africa, on South Africa's readiness for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the purpose of the session was to discuss SA's health public health emergency preparedness, and to showcase SA's readiness for investment and trade. The council is responsible for creating strengthening commercial relations between US and Africa.
London:
The Deputy Minister in United Kingdom (UK) explored possible links with UK government and institutions in the field of quality assurance and improvement, as well as to assess the current thinking and expertise in an area where the UK has invested in a major way in terms of policy and legislative initiatives and institution-building for improvement of accountability. UK's focus on development of standards and assessment of interventions and technologies is internationally recognised. The SA Department of Health is experiencing serious challenges in this regard.
The Deputy Minister at the press conference will share his experience/lessons learnt and elaborate on whether this would have any implications on our current strategies and policies:
Date: Thursday, 1 April 2010
Time: 10h00
Venue: Johannesburg International Airport
Conference venue to be confirmed later
Enquiries:
Charity Bhengu
Cell: 083 679 7424
Issued by: Department of Health
31 March 2010
Source: Department of Health (http://www.doh.gov.za/)
