Stellenbosch University

Division of Rural Health (Ukwanda)

Ukwanda is a Nguni word meaning “to grow"; in accordance with this, growth, development and progress are core pillars utilised by the centre to promote health care in rural communities through intentional and relevant student, staff, and community collaborations. Based on international models, the Ukwanda Centre for Rural health (CRH) was launched in 2002 and later opened a rural clinical school based in Worcester in 2011, another first in South Africa. The rural clinical school initially focused on medical students, but other programmes soon followed suite, with Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Speech-Language and Hearing Therapy joining in 2013. The placement of students in distributed rural locations was intended both to provide students with the skills for rural health care and to acclimatise students to rural communities and lifestyles. The exposure would in turn encourage the option of practising in rural and underserved communities after graduation.​​

Contact details
Phone: +27 21 938 9873
E-mail: [email protected] 

Physical address
Clinical Building
Tygerberg Campus
Francie van Zijl Drive

Our programmes

Undergraduate programmes

Ukwanda pursues an “immersion model" where students are exposed to the realities of working/caring in a resource-limited environment. Students are from the following professional disciplines:

  • Dietetics (Human Nutrition);
  • Physiotherapy;
  • Occupational Therapy;
  • Speech-language and hearing Therapy;
  • Medicine (MBChB). 

Clinical Governance in District Hospitals (Short Course)

The purpose of this short course is to provide students with an overview of clinical governance in district health services by studying, applying, and reflecting on the topic. Students will learn about the essentials of district health services’ structure and management, as well as key components of clinical governance, such as evidence-based care, auditing, and quality improvement, through online learning. With the help of their peers and supervisors, students will implement a quality improvement project. Additionally, the module will stimulate students' thinking about their own development as leaders and how to function as effective leaders in a district health setting.

Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Medicine

This groundbreaking programme, the first of its kind in South Africa, which addresses a barrier to accessing further education in rural environments. Limited postgraduate study opportunities have often resulted in Doctors and other Healthcare professionals opting to leave rural hospitals. The programme seeks to equip doctors working or planning to work in rural and remote areas in South Africa.