The Deputy Minister of Public Health of the Republic of Cuba, Fernando Navarro Gonzalez accompanied by the Director of Medical Teaching, Dr Jorge Gonzalez held a meeting with Deputy Minister, Dr Sibongiseni Dlomo, Eastern Cape Health MEC, Nomakhosazana Meth and the Faculty of Health Sciences.

 

In 1996 the South African government entered into a bilateral agreement with the government of the Republic of Cuba to establish the Nelson Mandela-Fidel Castro Medical Collaboration programme (NMFCMC), in terms of which selected South African students are sent to Cuba to receive their initial medical training in a Cuban university. 

 

“It was in 2016, a few years after we had sent students to Cuba in big numbers that our KwaZulu Natal Premier, Willies Mchunu sent us to Angola. I lead a delegation to Angola because we heard that Angola was also part of this medical training in Cuba, we wanted to learn from them,” said Dlomo.

 

He further added that when they went to Angola they established that the country was sending less and less students to Cuba and have started to bring Cuban lecturers to Angola to train.

 

“They thought it was cheaper and better to assemble the Angolan students and bring Cuban lecturers whose flavour and exit degree has the public health approach,” added Dlomo.

 

Deputy Minister Dlomo and Deputy Minister Gonzalez visited Angola when they were just starting out the faculty but they now have five Faculties of Health Sciences whose exit degrees is Public Health of Cuba.

 

Health Minister, Dr Joseph Phaahla  has assigned Dlomo to go out to the country and identify universities that can buy into this programme of adopting the public health approach.

 

“Prof Mbokazi you and your university were targeted because you carry the name of a big giant, Walter Sisulu, and some of us will be very proud to see WSU as one of those leading universities embracing this programme,” said Dlomo.

 

He further stated that one of the things that sets WSU apart already for this programme is that the university already has Cuban lecturers who support the faculty.

 

The Deputy Minister of Public Health of the Republic of Cuba, Fernando Navarro Gonzalez, said, “The first thing I want to convey is that the NMFC programme is multifaceted and today we are going to focus on the academic facet and how we can perfect the programme of the students trained in Cuba.”

 

He further added that South Africa is going to look at how best will  it be to perfect the programme and that as the Cuban government they will support whatever decision that South Africa takes.

 

“In relation to the proposed configuration of the development of community based medicine, based on the experience we have with other countries such as Angola, I believe that we can strengthen this collaboration.”

 

Faculty of Health Sciences, Dean, Professor Jabu Mbokazi, said, “Cooperation between WSU and the Republic of Cuba is as old as the new democratic South Africa. Continued partnership with the Republic of Cuba will assist in enabling us to reach our goals.”

 

He concluded that the programmes in the faculty currently include Medicine, Clinical Associate, Health Promotion, Nursing, Orthotics and Prosthetics, Medical Science,  the method used to teach them is  problem based learning, Community based education and services, decentralised teaching platform and all these teaching methods use small group teaching.