The inadequacy of health workers, both in quality and quantity, is a central reason for the high burden of disability and disease in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), Not only are health care professionals too few in number, they (and their skills) are also frequently not optimally distributed to provide health services equitably to populations, especially those in remote and rural areas. Furthermore, many do not possess the skills (even after qualification!)  needed to provide high quality services, hence, there is always a need for gathering experience, refresher training or exposure to new technologies, to enable them to deliver services of high quality.

The University of Cape Town’s Community Eye Health Institute (UCT-CEHI) has been involved in public eye health service education, research and development since its establishment in 2008, within a vast network of partners.

These activities provide rich opportunity for building experience and developing competencies for newly qualified professionals to apply in their careers going forward. From 2024, UCT-CEHI will be offering practical opportunities for career and employment through experience development, through its Volunteer Internship Programme (VIP).  

Health care workers, including health professionals, auxiliary health workers, and health management and support staff, can enrol for one of three possible VIPs, namely:

Management Internship

Education Internship

Research Internship

These internships can have a tenure of 1 month to 6 months, during which the VIP will be assigned a project to coordinate or manage in the application area (management, education, or research), with appropriate skills development, towards completion of the project.  In addition to skills development, the interns get to know about the "lay of the land", i.e., how things work, or are done, and become members of networks that will serve them well in the future. 

The skills development will encompass in-service training, coaching and mentoring, overseen and supervised by a dedicated mentor.

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