June 30, 2015 (RUMBEK) – A new health institution has been opened in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal state with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the state health ministry are supporting
According to the state health minister, Tong Deng Anei, Aweil Health Science and Training Institute will only target midwives, clinical officers and nurses.
Those who complete training, he told Sudan Tribune Tuesday, be awarded diplomas.
“Each department will be having 40 staffs to be trained. Our intake would really by nice because we will be taking 40 students from each section of the clinical officers, midwives and nurses,” he added.
The institute is a national post-secondary educational entity, founded with a mission to train highly skilled mid-level healthcare cadres.
“This will be the first post-secondary institution in Aweil that will train qualified health professionals who will provide sufficient medical care to the ailing people of Northern Bahr El Ghazal,” said Anei.
By mid last year, health statistics showed, South Sudan had less than 100 qualified mid-wives over a population of more than 8 million people.
The health sector in South Sudan faces shortage of qualified health workers. This has been worsened given that the country’s health budget is still below 5%, which is stilll below the Abuja declaration of at least 15% funding to health by African countries.
(ST).