The agreement was signed by Johannesburg Hospital Chief Executive Sagie Pillay and his Maputo Central Hospital counterpart, Fransisco Candido on Thursday.
“The [Maputo] Hospital will now be able to refer cases that it was unable to manage to the Johannesburg Hospital.
“The referring hospital shall carry the costs with regard to treatment and hospitalisation including travel and accommodation expenses,” said the Department of Health in a statement on Thursday.
The Maputo Central Hospital is the highest level hospital in Mozambique.
The agreement will also facilitate opportunities for Mozambican post graduate medical students to study in the country.
According to the department, an exchange programme for health specialists is also going to be developed between the two hospitals.
The arrangement is part of the cooperation agreement between South Africa and Mozambique, signed by the health ministers of the two countries in December 2005.
It encouraged these countries to collaborate on various health matters.
These included working together to find more effective mechanisms for the prevention of illnesses such as malaria, TB, HIV and AIDS in the general population, especially the migrant labourers in their respective countries.
Other challenges included the surveillance, control and management of communicable and non-communicable diseases, inadequate human resources and patient referral systems.
Mozambican President Armando Guebuza visited South Africa in 2005, where he and President Thabo Mbeki identified health as an important area of cooperation to further enhance their relations.
Article published courtesy of BuaNews
