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Ministry to train more health workers
By
George Ntonya - 03-06-2002 |
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The government has developed a six-year emergency training plan which will see 1,086 health workers trained every year.
President Bakili Muluzi said this when he opened the budget meeting of Parliament in Lilongwe on Friday.
He said that the figure includes nurses, clinical officers, laboratory technicians and medical assistants.
“It is the responsibility of my government to bring health care closer to every person and each family. Our rationale is that when we invest in the health of our people, we invest in our nation’s wealth,” said the president,
He told the august House that the Ministry of Health and Population had promoted over 1,100 health workers and improved their working conditions. Introduction of professional and special medical allowances, he added, were some of the incentives given to the health workers.
The President said that training institutions under the ministry would double their annual intake to ensure that the country has adequate health personnel.
“A new training hostel will be constructed [at] Mzuzu Central Hospital in the coming year. Likewise, the College of Medicine is expanding its current capacity,” he said.
The President said that all preparatory work for the new Nkhotakota Hospital, whose foundation stone he laid in 1995, has been completed and construction of the hospital would start later this year.
Reconstruction work at Chitipa District Hospital and six health centres is already under way, he added. Construction of new Zomba Central Hospital is also expected to start this year.
According to the president, the government has secured K995 million for construction work at Mchinji, Salima, Ntchisi, Phalombe district hospitals and several other health centres.
“Extensive works have started on Kabudula and Mitundu rural hospitals, which are now being converted into two new community hospitals,” the president told the House, adding that construction of Thyolo and Chiradzulu hospitals is expected to finish next year at an approximate cost of K1.764 billion, including the price of equipment.
The president said that several development programmes in the ministry are also expected to be implemented this year.
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