Belgium/Reception centers to address the shortage of doctors in rural areas of Wallonia

To address the shortage of general practitioners in rural areas, UNamur has set up nine training centers in the provinces of Namur, Hainaut, and Luxembourg, enabling 26 third-year medical students to complete their clinical rotations there, the university announced Thursday.

The program aims to address barriers related to housing, transportation, and isolation, at a time when more than half of Wallonia’s municipalities are facing a shortage of general practitioners, particularly in rural areas.

The internships are organized around three key elements: a supervising physician, nearby housing, and a transportation solution.

“We wanted to develop a simple and effective solution that focuses directly on the students’ needs,” explained Aurélie Strickaert, project manager in the Department of Medicine at UNamur.

“By combining supervision, housing, and transportation, we’re creating the conditions that make a rural internship truly accessible and attractive.”

The ultimate goal is twofold: to improve internship conditions and, in the longer term, to encourage the establishment of medical facilities in areas that are currently underserved, particularly the provinces of Namur, Hainaut, and Luxembourg.

Source: www.rtbf.be/