Medical Education for South African Blacks (MESAB) was a 501(c)3 organization that operated from 1985 to 2007. MESAB was a collaborative effort by Americans and South Africans to support the training of black South Africans in the health professions in an effort to improve health care for the black African population of South Africa. MESAB provided scholarships for black South African students at 26 South African universities and technikons, along with sundry training initiatives in community health clinics. MESAB was founded in 1985 by retired diplomat Herbert Kaiser and his wife Joy Kaiser and closed its doors in 2007. At the time of MESAB's founding, South Africa's apartheid policies dictated separate health facilities for blacks. These facilities were underfunded, underequipped, and un