By Alyssa Harrison
During Covid-19, UCT graduate and young doctor Busisiwe Kabane was in the middle of completing an internship at Tambo Memorial hospital. While she had a dream to create change in her community, she was faced with an overburdened health system. No matter how hard she tried to secure the correct treatment for her patients, it was a constant uphill battle.
Even as Kabane was grappling with the challenges of the health system, a new initiative for young people was taking root. KeReady emerged as a campaign encouraging young people to get vaccinated. However, by the time the vaccine rollout reached them, they were reluctant to come forward, having been bombarded by misinformation. To combat this, KeReady put together a communications package, encouraging young doctors to educate people about their health and the vaccine. For instance, a Whatsapp line was set up where people could contact doctors directly about any health-related questions they might have. There were nearly 88 000 users on that line.
According to Angela Stewart-Buchanan, head of the communications team, this resulted in nearly 251 000 Covid-19 vaccinations among 25-34 years-olds two months into the campaign.
After Covid-19, KeReady evolved from a vaccine campaign into a mobile clinic project. 46 mobile clinics were deployed across the country, going door-to-door in remote and rural communities that have little access to healthcare services, offering screenings, tests, family planning, immunisations, and treatment.
Kabane joined KeReady in 2022. While she still was able to work with patients individually, her role expanded to working with the Department of Health, as well as meeting with NGOs and stakeholders to plan events and form partnerships.
Kabane emphasised that KeReady was different from traditional health services in the way that they have positioned healthcare for young people:
“It’s young, it’s vibrant. We have purple trucks, it’s inviting. We play music, and we’ve got free wi-fi for young people. It was fun for us young doctors because it’s different from the traditional doctor role. You really are in the community doing serious work, and that’s very rewarding on its own.”
Kabane stressed the huge need for KeReady’s services. In the project’s early days, KeReady went into rural KZN and held a small event. She was not sure of the reception they would receive. However, after chatting with some members of the community and giving them access to their services, the entire community came out in numbers.
“I had never seen such an instant response from the community, which made me realise the need for a service like this. It was extremely moving.”
This is not to say that it was not without its challenges. The young doctors experienced muggings and intimidation while trying to reach gang-ridden areas. Despite this, they persisted, and Kabane is proud of what KeReady managed to achieve.
“I think it’s an innovative take on health care. It’s a breath of fresh air for the healthcare system, which can be very frustrating on the public sector side. I think we’ve brought a new take, a new face to healthcare.”
