Zambia’s government is planning to open a new higher learning institution for training doctors as part of efforts to fight the brain drain. Deputy Minister of Health Dr Solomon Musonda told parliament that intakes of health professionals – doctors, nurses and others – at four other institutions would also be doubled this year in a country said to have 27,000 health workers instead of a required 56,000.
The shortage of health professionals was attributed mostly to brain drain and deaths because of Aids.
“We are aware of the crisis we are facing, in terms of human resources,” Musonda said.
A 2006 document, the Human Resource for Health Strategic Plan, was supposed to be reviewed this year.
“With that strategic plan, we have increased the capacity and intake of nurses,” the deputy minister added.
There had been construction of infrastructure at the University Teaching Hospital in the capital Lusaka, with the nursing school expanded to double its intake of students.
“This is also happening at Ndola Central Hospital, Roan General Hospital and Kitwe Central Hospital where we are also likely to double intakes this year. We are planning to open another medical school to ensure that we increase the number of doctors. I think the government is moving towards achieving adequate human resource for health,” said Musonda.
The government had also put in place a Medical Retention Scheme that provides doctors with incentives such as further training outside the country, new vehicles and school fees for children.
Contributing to the same debate in Parliament, Health Minister Kapembwa Simbao said the retention scheme had been extended to nurses and paramedics. But there were difficulties in controlling the movement of female health staff – for instance, deploying nurses to rural areas – once they were married.
Members of Parliament were also informed that the Education Ministry had signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Zambia to upgrade the qualifications of 6,000 teachers countrywide from diploma to degree level, to tackle the problem of scarce tutors in critical areas such as science and mathematics.
The three-year programme is expected to be implemented this year, with studies conducted through distance learning.
Minister of Science, Technology and Vocational Training Dr Brian Chituwo told legislators a government bursary scheme established in 2005 to encourage female students to study male-dominated sciences had so far benefited 18 students, 13 of whom had graduated. Another of the scheme’s objectives was to promote critical skills for national development.
* University World News recently reported the Director General of Zambia’s Technical Education Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority, Dr Patrick Nkanza, as saying that 300,000 students completed secondary education every year but only 14,000, or 6%, gain admission to higher education.
[University World News ]
Very good idea but do we have adequate resources?
i thot the shortage was caused by poor conditions of service rather than training. We can train a million doctors but if we dont know how to retain tem it is all in vain
GRZ could open 100+ higher institutions of learning today but as long as the conditions of service for the doctors, nurses and other medical staff are poor, they will still leave for better prospects elsewhere.
Has GRZ met the resident doctors? No.
I also tend to think like #2 and #3. This seems like another of those fine sounding plans that in the end will deliver little or nothing. Why not strive to improve service delivery and working conditions in the already available institutions instead?
#2,3 5 I tend to agree with your line of thought. I, however, think if the retention scheme is implemented it might help the country retain some doctors. We may indeed lose some.
Some of our Russian trained Drs on return to Zambeziland cannot perform, sorry to say. Our localy trained are morre efficient and excel wherever they go to serve.
Just pay them well., equip them with modern machineries and improve the hospitals infrastructure. Stop misleading people as to the reason why you have shortage of health workers. Why should our brothers and sisters get peanuts, work with no proper tools and yet you want them to perform miracles.
First of – Find ways to sustain the current crop of doctors otherwise regardless of which institution they are trained, they will still leave.
For the first time on LT , I have found myself agreeing with all the posts above. I hope GRZ has amatwi. 😕
in addition. this system of taking or forcing doctors from their real work place which is the wards or clinics or both into some huge cosy offices and tripsing around the country and pretending to be politicians should be revisited. a better option is to have a really strong doctor’s advisory body such as the in name only zambia medical association to advise on policy issues affecting the health sector, not individuals. right there reclaiming the same simbaos and musondas from their offices back to the wards will see a significant increase in doctor numbers
what a Govt? is it the institutions or the conditions of service ?? well spoken Guys…….. Imagine if we had spent the NCC funds to rehabilitate the UTH…….
As for the doctors AND OTHER they need the same Ministerial conditions….House Loan, Car loan and other allowances…this will lock them into staying in Zambia…..
Impove our conditons of serivice and work surroundings we such come back not the nonesence i have read which doctor can fail to buy a car and pay school fees ?
solomon was dreaming. new medical school? why for? when was it planned because cabinet is not aware? which budget line? why are existing ones badly funded? with several new programmes ridgeway is now crowded. does solomon wish for an exclusive school for the doctors alone? he is thinking too loudly
it’s like going to the river to fetch water with a leaking bucket and istead of dealing with the hole in the bucket, you decide to just keep on pouring in more water.What’s the point?