SIOC-CDT has contributed R4.8 million to the project which has seen 21 nurses from the province’s Tsantsabane and John Taolo Gaetsewe district municipalities, receive bursaries to study full time at SU’s Department of Nursing and Midwifery for one year.

The intervention aims to directly address the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 that focuses on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all. Furthermore, it contributes towards the attainment of subgoal 3.1 that requires that by 2030, the global maternal mortality ratio should be reduced to less than 70 per 100 000 live births. According to StatsSA 2022, the maternal mortality ratio in the Northern Cape in 2020 was 109.9 deaths per 100 000 live births. Currently there is a substantial shortage of skilled birth attendants in South Africa which has led to challenges in effective planning and implementation of strategies to engage with sustainable development goals. Increasing education opportunities for skilled birth attendants will not only improve the shortage but enable improved maternal outcomes. According to the WHO, for all countries to realise the third SDG on health and well-being, the world needs an additional nine million nurses and midwives by 2030.

The intervention will also enable the training of emergency nurses, peri-operative nurses and critical care nurses, which is a scarce skill.

The cohort of 21 nurses are currently enrolled in the following postgraduate diploma programmes at the Department of Nursing and Midwifery:

Midwifery: Students learn how to critically reflect on the current thinking, practices, and research methods in the field and use this to improve women’s health.

Primary care nursing: The South African government has recognised the importance of the predominantly nurse-driven primary health care service as a cornerstone of the healthcare system. To ensure the successful implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill in South Africa, the Department of Nursing and Midwifery is playing a key role in training these Primary Care Nurse Specialists.

Emergency nursing: The programme equips students with an in-depth knowledge and therapeutic skills to diagnose, treat, care for, and manage critically or injured patients in a variety of emergency settings.

Peri-operative nursing: This training will develop the attitudes, knowledge, and skills of the student to provide peri-operative patient care with insight, confidence, and compassion.

Prof Portia Jordan, Executive Head of the Department, expressed her gratitude to the leadership and management of SOIC-CDT for providing them with the opportunity to contribute to the developmental and educational needs of the Northern Cape province.

"The Department of Nursing and Midwifery is privileged to facilitate the training of 21 specialist nurses from the Northern Cape province. We feel our intervention will contribute positively to the quality of health care delivery in the province and in South Africa," she said.

Jordan said there are currently no postgraduate programmes available in the Northern Cape to train specialist nurses.

"By agreeing to this project, we are able to assist the province to address the national priorities and needs for healthcare delivery and the dire need for specialist nurses. The project is unique as it not only supports the student financially through tuition fees, books, accommodation, meal allowances and laptops, but also with their academic needs through workshops, IT orientation sessions, emotional support, etc. Our goal is to ensure access for success."

Kgadi Magongoa, SIOC-CDT project leader, said the reason they have partnered with the Northern Cape Department of Health and SU is to ensure that nurses in the province are well trained to meet the targets of the UN’s SDG 3. "It is also our wish for these nurses to come back with their qualifications and expertise to help communities get better care," she added.

Magongoa said the plan is to continue the partnership with SU’s Department of Nursing and Midwifery to train specialised nurses and they hope to fund another cohort in 2025.