FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13 March 2020

South African Medical Association
aids medical students in KZN

Association says donation is an investment in future of medicine in SA

 

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) will today Friday, 13 March donate R550 000 to assist 118 medical students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) who are in financial distress.

The students faced possible financial exclusion from the institution due to unpaid historical debt and/or unpaid registration fees.

To address the problem, the Medical Campus Representative Council (MCRC) and UKZN launched the #IMadeADoctor campaign with the aim of raising R1 million to assist the 118 students complete their undergraduate studies.

“The Junior Doctors’ Association of SAMA also strongly motivated for a donation and in the end the decision to assist was an easy one for us to make. Investing in future medical professionals is important and this is a tangible way in which we can make a difference,” says SAMA Deputy Chairperson Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa.

According to Ms Xoliswa Njapha the MCRC “is delighted with the donation from SAMA” which has helped the #IMadeADoctor campaign reach its initial goal of raising R1 million.

Professor Busisiwe Ncama, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Health Sciences, also thanked SAMA for their kind donation.

‘We are overwhelmed with the kind gesture from our colleagues at SAMA. Both their National and provincial offices came together to support our students after hearing their plea. Thank you for assisting in ensuring that we are able to graduate more doctors in the country,” she says.

Dr Mzukwa says apart from investing in future doctors in South Africa, the donation should also motivate others to participate in making education a reality for those who struggle financially.

“We’ve taken this step as it involves medical students who form part of our healthcare community as a medical association. But it should also serve as a message to other similar institutions and associations who represent professionals in other fields that there are students who need financial assistance, and who will benefit from their generosity,” he concludes.

Notes to Editors
About SAMA
The South African Medical Association was formally constituted on 21 May 1998 as a unification of a variety of doctors’ groups that had represented a diversity of interests. SAMA is a non-statutory, professional association for public, and private sector medical practitioners. SAMA is a voluntary membership association, existing to serve the best interests and needs of its members in any and all healthcare related matter

Contact:
Acting Head of PR & Communications
Mr Vernon Kinnear
084 511 0484
Email: vernonk@samedical.org

Spokesperson 1
Vice-Chairperson: SAMA
Dr M Mzukwa
076 382 8152
Email: mzukwam@gmail.com

Spokesperson 2
Chairperson: SAMA
Dr A Coetzee
082 379 8118
Email: dr.coetzee@worldonline.co.za

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, simply click on the following link Unsubscribe.