A vision for South Africa’s only rural academic health complex: The case of Walter Sisulu University and the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital Complex

Authors

  • K Mfenyana Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9458-3742
  • N Makwedini School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa
  • W Chitha School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa; Institute for Clinical Governance and Healthcare Administration, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, East London, South Africa
  • S A Mabunda School of Public Health, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa; Global Centre for Human Resources for Health Intelligence, Walter Sisulu University, East London, South Africa; School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9458-3742

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7196/10.7196/SAMJ.2025.v115i11b.3535

Keywords:

History, Medical education, Rural, Community based education

Author Biographies

  • K Mfenyana, Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa

    1Family Medicine, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa

  • N Makwedini, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa

    2Public Health, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa

  • W Chitha, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa; Institute for Clinical Governance and Healthcare Administration, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, East London, South Africa

    2Public Health, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa

    3Institute for Clinical Governance and Healthcare Administration, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa

  • S A Mabunda, School of Public Health, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa; Global Centre for Human Resources for Health Intelligence, Walter Sisulu University, East London, South Africa; School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    2Public Health, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa

    4Global Centre for Human Resources for Health Intelligence, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa

    5School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    6George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

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Published

2025-12-19

Issue

Celebrating 40 years of the WSU Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

Section

WSU Commentaries

License

Copyright (c) 2025 K Mfenyana, N Makwedini, W Chitha, S A Mabunda

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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How to Cite

1.
Mfenyana K, Makwedini N, Chitha W, Mabunda SA. A vision for South Africa’s only rural academic health complex: The case of Walter Sisulu University and the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital Complex. S Afr Med J [Internet]. 2025 Dec. 19 [cited 2025 Dec. 28];115(11b):e3535. Available from: https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/samj/article/view/3535

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