The Eastern Cape Provincial Government continues to strengthen rural healthcare and medical training with the official launch of the Walter Sisulu University (WSU) Rural Clinical School at St Elizabeth Regional Hospital in Lusikisiki this week.

Led by Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa, the launch brought together Walter Sisulu leadership, hospital management, traditional leaders, Ingquza Hill Local Municipality representatives, healthcare workers, and community stakeholders. The MEC also engaged with departmental officials and partners of the programme, highlighting government s commitment to advancing quality healthcare and skills development in rural areas of the province.

The Walter Sisulu University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences has consistently led innovation in health sciences education and rural medical training in South Africa. The faculty was the first in the country to implement Community-Based Education and Problem-Based Learning in medical training, the first to introduce an undergraduate degree in Health Promotion, the first to offer the Clinical Associate Programme, and the first to place all medical students in extended district hospital rotations.

It is also one of the first two institutions to implement an integrated five-year MBChB curriculum and established the country s first Centre for Global Health and Research. These national firsts were achieved here in the Eastern Cape, demonstrating that excellence in medical education can be built and sustained in rural communities.

Final-year medical student Lebeko Kabelo Edmond Madike, one of the ten students placed at the Walter Sisulu University Rural Clinical School at St Elizabeth Regional Hospital in Lusikisiki, said, the opportunity to train in a rural setting has strengthened my understanding of the health challenges faced by underserved communities and I am committed to serving in rural areas beyond graduation.”

The launch of the Walter Sisulu University Rural Clinical School signals Eastern Cape Provincial Government s ongoing commitment in improving healthcare delivery, retaining medical skills in rural districts, and building a resilient health system for the people of the Eastern Cape.