The Greater Sekhukhune-CAPABILITY outreach project.

The Greater Sekhukhune-CAPABILITY Outreach Project was undertaken in a rural district in Limpopo, South Africa, as part of the European Union-funded CAPABILITY programme to investigate approaches for capacity building for the translation of genetic knowledge into care and prevention of congenital disorders. Based on previous experience of a clinical genetic outreach programme in Limpopo, it aimed to initiate a district clinical genetic service in Greater Sekhukhune to gain knowledge and experience to assist in the implementation and development of medical genetic services in South Africa. Implementing the service in Greater Sekhukhune was impeded by a developing staff shortage in the province and pressure on the health service from the existing HIV/AIDS and TB epidemics. This situation underscores the need for health needs assessment for developing services for the care and prevention of congenital disorders in middle- and low-income countries. However, these impediments stimulated the pioneering of innovate ways to offer medical genetic services in these circumstances, including tele-teaching of nurses and doctors, using cellular phones to enhance clinical care and adapting and assessing the clinical utility of a laboratory test, QF-PCR, for use in the local circumstances.