Medical education in the community--the UNITRA experience.

The creation of the independent black state of Transkei, under the apartheid regime, resulted in inadequate allocation of resources to the region. These inequalities were translated into health care. Despite these limitations, over the last five years an innovative community-based educational programme involving medical students, nurses and health educators is evolving at the relatively new medical school in this region. This programme, however, has not been free of difficulties. There is an urgent need to address these issues using a combination of administrative, educational and research approaches. This would provide a strong basis for the further development of this educational programme that could serve as a unique South African example of medical education in the community.