ABSTRACT
South Africa is similar to most other sub-Saharan African countries in facing a substantial burden of disease with limited human and financial resources. South Africa is a relatively large country of over one million square kilometres, with a total population of 45 million. Public health services and budgets are devolved from the national Department of Health to provincial Departments of Health, with some primary health care services being provided by municipalities. Lack of bandwidth, especially in rural areas, is a major problem facing telemedicine delivery in South Africa. In collaboration with the University of Stellenbosch, the Medical Research Council (MRC) has developed a ‘home-grown’ primary health care workstation for use in primary health care facilities run by nurses and part-time doctors and dentists. The national Department of Science and Technology has funded a consortium of the MRC, the Meraka Institute of the Scientific and Industrial Research and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in a major three-year project in KwaZulu-Natal.
