RURAL SCHOLARSHIP SCHEMES A solution to the human resource crisis in rural district hospitals?

Abstract

Recruiting sufficient health personnel for rural hospitals is an ongoing problem. The Friends of Mosvold Scholarship Scheme in northern KwaZulu-Natal is a locally based scholarship scheme that offers the local community a chance to develop its own human resources for health care. Students are required to work in the local hospital during their vacations and sign a contract to work back their scholarship year for year. Already 44 people from Ingwavuma are being supported to study for a variety of health professions. This concept is being extended to the Limpopo and North-West provinces through the Wits Initiative for Rural Health Education. The scheme provides a model for human resource development at a district level that could be usefully adopted by any tier of government.