The Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) will receive 27 final-year medical students from Gaza
as a humanitarian response at the end of July. These students have been displaced from
learning at their universities in Gaza as a result of the ongoing war in that region. The
students will form part of our regular elective student process through which our Faculty
offers the South African medical experience to students from across the world, most notably
Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The FHS' approach to support the learning of this group of students has been guided by
national conversations in response to Ukrainian universities in 2022/23. The South African
Committee of Medical Deans (SACOMD), together with the Department of Higher Education
and Training (DHET), led a task team following the displacement of South African students
during the war in Ukraine. The agreement reached was that, in order to work in South
African health facilities and with South African citizens, visiting students may do a maximum
of 12 months of elective clinical training in South Africa as provided for by the Health
Professions Council of South Africa's (HPCSA) regulatory framework for visiting student
registration.

This group of students has been supported in its application to do this elective by the
student-led OxPal group, working with Professor Shameq Sayeed (University of Leicester
and St Anne’s College, University of Oxford). The clinical exposure they will receive at UCT
during this elective period will be used by their home universities as part of evidence of
completing clinical training and allow them to graduate from those universities at the end of
the elective period.

The Deanery of the FHS has been engaging with the Deans at both the Islamic University of
Gaza (IUG) as well as the Al-Azhar University of Gaza (AUG). The electives have been
adapted in consultation with the Deans of these two universities in order to ensure that the
students' academic criteria are fulfilled by this local exposure.

A working group has been established locally to ensure academic rigour with regards to the
process, and adequate psychosocial support is provided for these students. Our
Student Development and Support Office will collaborate with the selected providers. This is
to ensure that this group of students does not impact adversely on the already
comprehensive suite of support provided to students in the Faculty. In this regard, the Gift of
the Givers has been an invaluable partner in the provision of resources — material,
logistical and in the form of psychosocial support — for the visiting students.

I have consulted with groups of final-year medical students informing them of the arrival of
this group and I was greatly encouraged by their warm reception of this initiative as well as
the generous offers to support this cohort of students. The initiative has also been
positively received by our programme conveners.

Anyone, staff or student, who wishes to engage in this matter further is welcome
to approach the office of Nonkosi Malala or speak to me directly. Queries will be treated in
confidence.

This humanitarian response by our Faculty of Health Sciences is premised on providing
these students with adequate clinical learning for their return for graduation at their home
universities. Our aim is to ensure as normal a student experience as possible,
notwithstanding their experience of the trauma of war and displacement from their original
places of living and learning.

Kaise ke gangans
Associate Professor Lionel Green-Thompson
Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences