Training opportunities for public health in South Africa
Shisana, O.
Africa Health 1994(Special Issue): 10-11
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0141-9536 PMID: 12345504 Document Number: 284799
South Africa has 4 public health training institutions: the Transvaal School of Public Health, the Public Health Programme of the University of the Western Cape, the Natal Institute of Community Health Education, and the Eastern Cape School of Public Health. They are interinstitutional (universities, polytechnic schools, health service providers, statutory research councils, and nongovernmental organizations). A steering committee heads up each institution. One person leads the committee, managing all activities and making sure that all activities fulfill the requirements of the steering committee. The Epidemiological Society of Southern Africa also contributes to public health training through its annual forum for public health researchers and meetings of public health personnel, where they talk about public health training needs. Interest in public health training reemerged in the late 1980s, mainly due to the dismantling of apartheid, which called for a restructuring of the public health service. Primary health care is the focus of all South Africa's public health institutions. Courses convey community-oriented approaches in the design of health programs and research. They use a multidisciplinary approach to education. They examine socioeconomic conditions affecting health as well as the biomedical aspects of public health. The Transvaal School of Public Health targets post-basic and post-graduate health staff at the middle or senior level positions. On the other hand, the Eastern Cape School of Public Health targets field workers, primary health care workers, and public health professionals. Currently, the programs only provide a Master of Public Health. As South Africa makes its way to democracy and with adequate funding, public health training in South Africa will result in positive efforts helping all of Africa.