How Were Return-of-Service Schemes Developed and Implemented in Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho?
Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho are three Southern African countries that make use of return-of-service (RoS) schemes to increase human resources for health in their countries. These initiatives bind beneficiaries to a pre-defined period of service upon the completion of their studies based on the le...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/10/1512 |
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| author | Sikhumbuzo A. Mabunda Andrea Durbach Wezile W. Chitha Oduetse Moaletsane Blake Angell Rohina Joshi |
| author_facet | Sikhumbuzo A. Mabunda Andrea Durbach Wezile W. Chitha Oduetse Moaletsane Blake Angell Rohina Joshi |
| author_sort | Sikhumbuzo A. Mabunda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho are three Southern African countries that make use of return-of-service (RoS) schemes to increase human resources for health in their countries. These initiatives bind beneficiaries to a pre-defined period of service upon the completion of their studies based on the length of funding support received. We aimed to review the history of these policies to understand the conceptualisation, intent and implementation of these schemes. We used a multi-methods research design which consisted of a literature review, a policy review and semi-structured interviews with policymakers and implementors. All three governments have a combination of grant-loan schemes and full bursaries or scholarships. The policies have all been operating for over 20 years, with Eswatini’s pre-service policy being the oldest since it was introduced in 1977, followed by Lesotho’s 1978 policy and Botswana’s 1995 pre-service policy. These policies have never been reviewed or updated. RoS schemes in these countries were introduced to address critical skills shortages, to improve employability prospects for citizens, to have competent public sector employees by global standards and to aid the career progress of government employees. Ministries of Health are passive role players. However, these schemes can only be efficient if there is clear cooperation and coordination between all stakeholders. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:41:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-19a5cc19ba084254b24f6c7164e68111 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:41:14Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-19a5cc19ba084254b24f6c7164e681112023-11-18T01:33:26ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322023-05-011110151210.3390/healthcare11101512How Were Return-of-Service Schemes Developed and Implemented in Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho?Sikhumbuzo A. Mabunda0Andrea Durbach1Wezile W. Chitha2Oduetse Moaletsane3Blake Angell4Rohina Joshi5School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, AustraliaAustralian Human Rights Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, AustraliaHealth Systems Enablement and Innovation Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South AfricaPharmacovigilance and Clinical Trials, Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority, Gaborone P.O. Box 505155, BotswanaThe George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2042, AustraliaSchool of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, AustraliaBotswana, Eswatini and Lesotho are three Southern African countries that make use of return-of-service (RoS) schemes to increase human resources for health in their countries. These initiatives bind beneficiaries to a pre-defined period of service upon the completion of their studies based on the length of funding support received. We aimed to review the history of these policies to understand the conceptualisation, intent and implementation of these schemes. We used a multi-methods research design which consisted of a literature review, a policy review and semi-structured interviews with policymakers and implementors. All three governments have a combination of grant-loan schemes and full bursaries or scholarships. The policies have all been operating for over 20 years, with Eswatini’s pre-service policy being the oldest since it was introduced in 1977, followed by Lesotho’s 1978 policy and Botswana’s 1995 pre-service policy. These policies have never been reviewed or updated. RoS schemes in these countries were introduced to address critical skills shortages, to improve employability prospects for citizens, to have competent public sector employees by global standards and to aid the career progress of government employees. Ministries of Health are passive role players. However, these schemes can only be efficient if there is clear cooperation and coordination between all stakeholders.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/10/1512health systemhealth workforcehuman resourceshealth policybursary |
| spellingShingle | Sikhumbuzo A. Mabunda Andrea Durbach Wezile W. Chitha Oduetse Moaletsane Blake Angell Rohina Joshi How Were Return-of-Service Schemes Developed and Implemented in Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho? Healthcare health system health workforce human resources health policy bursary |
| title | How Were Return-of-Service Schemes Developed and Implemented in Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho? |
| title_full | How Were Return-of-Service Schemes Developed and Implemented in Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho? |
| title_fullStr | How Were Return-of-Service Schemes Developed and Implemented in Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Were Return-of-Service Schemes Developed and Implemented in Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho? |
| title_short | How Were Return-of-Service Schemes Developed and Implemented in Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho? |
| title_sort | how were return of service schemes developed and implemented in botswana eswatini and lesotho |
| topic | health system health workforce human resources health policy bursary |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/10/1512 |
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