For the past few years, Namibian students who want to study Medicine have not been able to study  in South Africa due to an agreement between the Namibian political elite and South African Medical schools. This agreement states that Namibian students should no longer be admitted into their schools.

At first sight, this may seem ideal. However, the University of Namibia (UNAM) school of Medicine only accepts approximately 80 to 120 students out of the thousands that want to do Medicine every single year. There are also many cases of top Grade 12 students not being admitted to the UNAM medical school, while some lower performing children in other regions of the country have been accepted. Students now find themselves in a predicament. If they are not accepted to UNAM, they either have to go overseas, which can be financially taxing on many Namibians, or they have to do a course that was not their first choice. Namibian doctors who graduated from foreign countries such as Russia also find it difficult to pass the Namibian medical Board exams. In 2019, 2 out of 206 Namibian doctors who studied outside of Africa passed the exam.

South Africa is not only close to home for Namibian students, but it is also a cheaper option for students who are not accepted into UNAM.  By allowing Namibian students to be accepted into South African universities, they can be closer to home and still have top class medical education that is relevant to African communities.