Published: 11 December 2025

Call for Applications: Second Cohort of SAFP Editorial Fellows (2026)

The South African Family Practice (SAFP) journal invites applications for its Editorial Fellowship Programme, now entering its second year. This initiative is designed to nurture the next generation of clinician-scholars in family medicine and primary care by offering a structured, mentored introduction to academic publishing.

What is the Editorial Fellowship?
An annual, one-year engagement for South African family medicine registrars, the fellowship provides a sheltered learning experience under the supervision and mentorship of the SAFP editorial team. Fellows will gain hands-on exposure to:
• Editorial processes: Manuscript triage, peer review analysis, and publication ethics.
• Critical appraisal and writing: Producing high-quality editorials and assessing peer reviews.
• Leadership and collaboration: Contributing to journal strategy and engaging with national and international networks.
• Innovation projects: Fellows may pursue special interests such as digital content creation, podcasts, or design initiatives.
This programme builds on the success of our inaugural cohort, whose reflections highlighted transformative experiences in scholarly communication, leadership development, and creative contributions to the journal’s growth.
Participation is entirely voluntary and unpaid. The estimated time commitment is around 1 to 2 hours per week. Each annual cohort will be limited to two fellows.

Voices from the first cohort and inaugural fellows, Drs Simon Marcus and Mmaphefo Maluleka
“This fellowship was a transformative experience. It deepened my understanding of editorial processes and sharpened my critical appraisal skills.”
“Working closely with senior editors gave me confidence and a sense of belonging in the scholarly community.”
“The opportunity to contribute to the journal’s strategy and creative projects, like podcasts and cover art, was career-shaping.”
“Joining editorial meetings and engaging in discussions on ethics and innovation broadened my perspective on research integrity and impact.”

Why apply?
The fellowship offers:
• Mentorship from experienced editors.
• Opportunities to co-author editorials and CPD articles.
• Participation in editorial board meetings and strategic discussions.
• A platform to shape the future of family medicine scholarship in South Africa.

Eligibility
• All currently enrolled South African family medicine registrars.
• A letter of support from your postgraduate programme convenor or Head of Department (HOD).
• Applicants will be evaluated on their demonstrated interest in scientific publishing, primary care research, communication skills, and commitment to digital communication to promote the journal.

Timeframe
• Fellowship duration: 1 year (2026).
• Application deadline: Monday, 12 January 2026.

How to apply
Submit the following to admin@saafp.org:
• A brief letter of motivation (max 500 words).
• Your CV.
• A letter of support from your programme convenor or HOD.

Published: 11/04/2025

From the President’s Desk [SA Family Practice Journal]

I have the great honour to pen this communication as the President of the SA Academy of Family Physicians. Over the last few decades, the academy has played a leading role in advocating and organising for the establishment of the discipline of family medicine and the enhancement of district and primary care services in our country. The next 5 years see us building on this work, with several interesting challenges and opportunities before us. The extent to which we respond will largely be dependent on your active engagement in the academy’s structures and activities.

Published: 01 April 2025

The professional boards have granted a 3-month extension from 1 April to 30 June 2025, for all practitioners who are non-compliant.

“The number of CPD points required, applies to a 12-month cycle of CPD programme. For example, if a practitioner is required to annually maintain a minimum of 30 CPD points (25 clinical and 5 ethical), only indicated is required to be CPD compliant and each CPD point is valid for 12 months from the date on which the activity took place.”

Published: 21 January 2025

WONCA and PLANETARY HEALTH

“Family doctors need to know how to reduce their environmental impact and prepare for climate change effects like worse flooding and over-heating. Organisations supporting family doctors can help…”

Published:10 January 2025

SUBMISSION GUIDELINE FOR SA FAMILY PRACTICE JOURNAL

The South African Family Practice (SAFP) journal is the official journal of the South African Academy of Family Physicians (SAAFP) and is aimed at all SAAFP members (including family physicians, registrars, associate members, students), working within primary care (both private and public health sectors, as well as urban and rural practice settings) within South Africa and the wider Southern African region.

SAFP is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, which strives to provide primary care teams, as well as researchers, with a broad range of scholarly work in the practice, training and learning of family medicine, primary care, primary health care, rural medicine, district health and other related fields.

Published: 25 October 2024

SUSPENSION OF HEALTH PRACTITIONERS REGISTERED WITH THE HPCSA FOR CPD NON-COMPLIANCE

“Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the responsibility of every registered health practitioner, which is a constant requirement to ensure continued competency relevance in health care delivery. The CPD programme assists registered health practitioners to document the ongoing development of relevant professional skills, knowledge and experiences attained beyond initial training, gained both formally and
informally as health practitioners practice their professions.

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is legislatively required to ensure that health practitioners always remain CPD compliant, as contained in section 26 of the Health Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974). CPD compliance is therefore mandatory by law, for all health practitioners registered with the HPCSA. CPD compliance is critical for quality and good health care provision, thereby ensuring that the public always remains protected.”

Published: 23 October 2024

Family physicians poised for bigger role in public healthcare – after years on the sidelines

Family physicians undergo an extra four years of training, with an emphasis on clinical governance and knowledge of social factors influencing people’s health.

Published: 14/10/2024

From the President’s desk

Highlights from the 26th Annual South African Academy of Family Physicians Congress

The 26th Annual South African Academy of Family Physicians (SAAFP) Congress took place from 7 to 8 September 2024 at the Protea Breakwater Lodge in Cape Town. The conference was attended by 170 delegates, 40 speakers. 20 exhibition stands [sponsors and non-sponsors.],

The theme was “Family Medicine Strengthens PHC—Creating Opportunities from Adversity”, and the congress was co-organised by the University of Cape Town and the University of Limpopo, with support from Stellenbosch University and the SAAFP Specialist Family Physicians in Private forum.  We focused on “Respect, dignity and compassion—from the cradle to the grave.” This year’s congress brought together family physicians, registrars, and healthcare professionals from across the country to explore critical issues in primary healthcare and family medicine.

Published: 02/05/2024

From the President’s desk [Prof Tasleem Ras]

It’s been a very busy time for the SA Academy of Family Physicians. This being my first quarterly President’s Report, there are few pertinent issues that I’d like to focus on.

Our previous President, Prof Andrew Ross, a stalwart of the national family medicine community and longtime UKZN academic, stepped away from his role in the SAAFP Executive due to an ongoing health challenge. Andrew is a quiet and passionate leader, who seems to be tireless in the pursuit of restorative justice and social harmony. Testimony to this commitment was him being awarded the Order of Baobab by the President of the Republic of South Africa in 2015 for his valuable contribution to the development of rural youth. We pray for the best possible outcome as Andrew embarks on the next phase of his therapeutic journey, and hope that his wise counsel will guide the Academy for many years to come.

The annual national Family Physicians’ conference, one of the Academy’s flag-bearing events, was successfully held at the iconic Cape Town Waterfront in September. While the weather was cold outside, the pre-conference workshops focusing on ultrasound and research training, and the richly diverse programme schedule ensured that participants who attended were never left wishing they were elsewhere. Particularly encouraging was the active participation of registrars from across the country, and in a first for this conference, two UCT registrars, Carlota Sekhokoane and Chrystal Johnson, co-hosted a splendid gala dinner. Some key reflections coming from the conference included ensuring financial sustainability of future conferences, possibly expanding the scope of the conference to include other members of primary health care teams, and ongoing engagement with key decision-makers as part of the Academy’s advocacy. These lessons are going to be extremely pertinent as we start the planning process for hosting the World WONCA conference in Cape Town in 2027!

The Academy has long engaged with advocacy, which has focused on ensuring that Family Physicians are recognised within the systems in which they work, both public and private. The growing private practitioners’ forum has made significant inroads in their deliberations with healthcare funders in ensuring that Family Physicians are appropriately remunerated as specialists. Additionally, they will provide mentoring to emerging FPs who are planning to enter private practice. Within the public sector, members of the Academy have engaged with the national and provincial departments of health, contributing to conversations around health system strengthening and human resources for health.

Ensuring the financial sustainability of the Academy will be a priority of my tenure, as it has been a priority of my predecessors. This organisation is too important as the official voice of FPs in SA and globally to succumb to the financial woes that currently beset our economy. A simple way to mitigate this risk is to enhance our paid-up membership. If half the registered FPs on the HPCSA register were full members, our financial sustainability would be guaranteed. This is an objective that could be met but will need our collective efforts to convince colleagues and friends to register and pay their membership fees. Which leads me to my final point, the value that the Academy offers to its members.

While the Academy has been offering a number of resources to its membership for quite some time now, it is important for us to self-reflect and ask whether these offerings indeed add value to the professional lives of our members. A recent national membership survey had such a poor response rate that the results cannot be meaningfully interpreted, except to question the reasons for the low levels of engagement. This is definitely an area that needs more robust exploration.

Our successes in the last quarter, despite some serious organisational and personal challenges, indicates that the SAAFP is robust and resilient in its ability to respond to these challenges. I know that the Executive can count on the support of all members as we chart our way into 2025, and beyond.

Published: 30 August 2024

District health service delivery and the contribution of family physicians

Significance:
Most health care in South Africa takes place in the district health system. In the public sector, this includes primary health care and district hospitals. Although there have been improvements in health and health care, there are still inequities, many instances of poor quality, and weakness regarding community engagement and multisectoral action. Service delivery is currently challenged by budget cuts and loss of resources. Ongoing reforms are needed to improve performance and accommodate the introduction of national health insurance. The deployment of family physicians is an overlooked reform that can improve the model of care, quality, and resilience.