Hepea empowers young healthcare professionals to save lives and build sustainable careers

By focusing on healthcare development and community empowerment, Hepea enables young professionals to save lives and achieve successful careers.

Through its six-month Healthcare Youth Professional Practitioner Development (HYPPD) programme, the business empowers the youth (21 to 35 years) to step confidently into the world of healthcare.

It focuses on individuals who are in their 'articles' phase of their careers, participating in internships and community service.

CEO Gift Nkuna says the main issue facing unemployed doctors is transitioning out of internships.

“If we keep following this approach of just taking them to community service and then leaving them hanging, we are going to have these [unemployment] numbers escalating. We need to come up with a strategy as to how we now absorb them," he says.

To raise awareness about the challenges facing these young professionals, the organisation has a docu-series in the works.

'Ziond: Zooming in on Nurses and Doctors' gives an inside look into the sacrifices and triumphs of these young professionals.

It highlights real-life challenges such as resource limitations and burnout.

Nkuna hopes the series will help fund more professionals under HYPPD.

"You are not only telling the story, you are demystifying the sector. You are also inspiring the younger generation who also aspire to be doctors to see what challenges they face," he adds.

To listen to Nkuna in conversation with 702's Bongani Bingwa, click below: