Prof. Bismark Tyobeka, principal and vice-chancellor of the North-West University (NWU), has lauded Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s announcement that plans are in place to add to the country’s ten academic hospitals.

Minister Motsoaledi made this announcement during his budget vote presentation to the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday. There are currently no academic hospitals in the North West, Mpumalanga or the Northern Cape, although proposed projects in these regions are in the preliminary stages of development.

The NWU is in the advanced stages of constructing the NWU Desmond Tutu School of Medicine, and Prof. Tyobeka says that aligning this project with the proposed academic hospital in the North West would greatly benefit the citizens of the province.

The first intake of NWU Desmond Tutu School of Medicine students is scheduled for 2028.

“South Africa faces many healthcare challenges, and it is heartening to see that the public healthcare system, on which almost 90% of South Africans rely, is a high government priority. But more than a priority, healthcare is a promise to our citizens that we must keep. Therefore, I am elated by the Minister’s pronouncement regarding plans in the pipeline to establish additional academic hospitals, one of which is earmarked for the North West Province,” said Prof Tyobeka.

“This development strongly supports our NWU Desmond Tutu School of Medicine, which is presently under construction. Whilst not wishing to pre-empt any formal decisions, we are hopeful that government will strategically locate this hospital in Mahikeng or within the Ngaka Modiri Molema District, in close proximity to our NWU Mahikeng Campus. Such a move would significantly enhance the university’s capacity to broaden the footprint of our NWU Desmond Tutu School of Medicine beyond the Kenneth Kaunda and JB Marks Districts, thereby improving equitable access to high-calibre healthcare professionals and clinical expertise across the province.”

The integration of the NWU Desmond Tutu School of Medicine with a future academic hospital in the North West holds immense promise not only for advancing medical education, but also for transforming healthcare access and outcomes in the province.