POLOKWANE – Thirty-five prospective health professionals from Limpopo will be heading to Cuba tomorrow to study medicine.

According to the departmental spokesperson of Health and Social Development, Phuti Seloba, the criteria used to select the 35 pro-spective doctors were excellence in maths and science, especially for learners from families with a poor financial background. Seloba said that another key aspect was to get students with a keen interests in the medical profession.

He said that the department will pay a tuition fee of R40 000 per annum for the prospective health professionals who will visit their homes once every two years. “Since we have got less than one thousand doctors and a shortage of about five thousands doctors in the province, we view this as a huge investment,” he said.

Health and Social Development MEC Seaparo Sekoati said that the cordial relationship with Cuba has both historical and blood ties, meaning that many Cubans have come into the country as teachers, builders and doctors, hence south Africa was sending its students there to study medicine and other disciplines. “Cuban doctors and other health professionals are providing aid in our clinics and hospitals which are located in the remote areas of our provinces. We value this work and commit ourselves to working together with the people of Cuba to expand collaboration in various fields, including the training of doctors, the transferring of technology and expertise and the conducting of scientific research,” he said.

In bidding farewell to the prospective health professionals at Bolivia Lodge, Sekoati said that his understanding is that they are going to Cuba to study and nothing else. He said that, because Limpopo Province is predominantly rural, many doctors prefer to work in other provinces like Gauteng, but those who want to work in the province are operating in and around Polokwane or in areas where infrastructure is fairly developed. “The deep rural areas are suffering, but government has, however, developed a strategy to recruit doctors from Cuba and to send students to study medicine in Cuba for them to come and serve their people in rural areas,” he said.

Seloba congratulated the learners who were awarded the scholarship. “We hope that you will understand this and not disappoint us. We will give you the necessary support you deserve and we expect you to perform well; by going to Cuba, you are not lost because the people of that country occupy a special place in the hearts of millions of our people,” he said.