Even as South Sudan celebrated its second Independence Day on 9 July, the country continues to face major hurdles on its path to development. In a country with some of the poorest health indicators in the world, progress in the health sector continues to be very slow. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of qualified health professionals in the country.
In Rumbek, the capital of Lakes State in central South Sudan, Malteser International is working to change this situation. Since late May, Malteser International has been managing the newly formed Rumbek Health Training School (RHTS), which merges Malteser International’s laboratory training school with Rumbek’s nursing school. “We hope that, by merging the two schools, we will be able to improve the quality of the training and the students’ performance,” says Brigitte Podborny, country coordinator for Malteser International in South Sudan.
The RHTS is expected to produce at least 106 qualified graduates (48 nurses and 58 laboratory technicians) by early 2016. With a total of 9 tutors and clinical instructors, the three-year program also counts on an optimal student-teacher ratio.
“We hope Malteser International will advance the RHTS to become a well-recognized training school,” said Samuel Maketh, training director at the South Sudan’s Ministry of Health, at the school’s opening ceremony. “The focus is on creating an enabling learning and teaching environment for both students and tutors.”
The European Union is supporting the project with 1.7 million euros for the duration of 3 years. Malteser International is managing the school under the guidance of the State Ministry of Health for Lakes, and in partnership with the national Ministry of Health. Before the merging of the schools, Malteser International had already been running Rumbek’s medical laboratory training school since 2002. 85 laboratory technicians graduated from the program.