Abstract:
Access to health care is a basic constitutional right in South Africa. The extreme
shortage of doctors in sub-Saharan Africa is well documented, with
26 doctors per 100 000 people against a global average of 141 doctors per
100 000 people. The situation is no different in South Africa. The rural health
care facilities have been facing a critical shortage of medical doctors where
approximately 43% of the people in the rural areas often face greater health
challenges such as having access to a mere 12% of the medical workforce
in South Africa. In an attempt to address the shortage of doctors the late
Presidents of South Africa and Cuba, Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro,
signed a bilateral agreement in 1996. One of the key terms of the agreement
was to address the critical shortage of medical doctors in South Africa.
This article reflects the findings of a study that was conducted to assess
whether the Mandela-Castro Medical Collaboration Programme
(MCMCP) has assisted in promoting health care service delivery in the
small district hospitals in the Frances Baard District Municipality (FBDM)
area in the Northern Cape Province. The period reviewed was from 2017
to 2019 because the doctors produced through the MCMCP had already
been delivering health care services in hospitals of the FBDM. The research
approach applied was deductive in nature and used quantitative data to generate propositions. The article provides insight into the impact
of MCMCP on health care service delivery in the FBDM district hospitals,
Northern Cape Province.
