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Muhwezi welcomes new nurses school
By Fortunate Ahimbisibwe
HEALTH minister Jim Muhwezi has hailed the Aga Khan Foundation for establishing development projects, especially empowering women by opening a nursing school in the country.
“We have a big need for nurses in Uganda in order to improve the health sector at the grassroots,” the minister said.
He said the Government would support private heath projects to ensure better delivery of health services to the people.
Muhwezi was speaking at a dinner organised by the Foundation at the Grand Imperial Hotel.
He, however, appealed to the Foundation to increase the intake of the nurses. Currently, they are 500 at Agha Khan University, Old Kampala.
He appealed for an increase in the intake for comprehensive nursing in order to cope with the exodus to the develop nations. (for which the govt will receive pay, he did not add, neither did he add that were other unemployed nurses 'beating th e pavement' ...)
Earlier, the Aga Khan University board of trustees discussed ways of improving the status of the university and increasing the intake.
The acting provost, David Taylor, said, “By 2008, we want this to be an international, comprehensive university.”New Vision: Thursday, 29th July, 2004
Apparently the govt can only affor to employ only 40% (ca. 12,000) of those it trains. Some end up in private hospitals. The minister cann't tell you how many are unemployed -- even though they are apprently regulated. In 2002 there were 1,131 RNs, in 2002 there 1,339. Thus in 2 years only 8 RNs joined the ranks. What happened to the rest? See links to some international reaction to this snafu below.
418 nurses left Uganda in 2003
By Martin Luther Oketch, July 9, 2004KAMPALA- Statistics available at the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council indicate that some 418 nurses and midwives left the country for work in other countries.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development Mr Ralph Ocan has said. This was in a presentation made for him by the director of Labour, Mr Claudius Olweny at Hotel Africana in a sanitation seminar for the nurses and midwives who want to work in England yesterday.
“Information available at the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council indicates that as of October 31, 2003, it had 33,831 members. Out of this 12,580 (i.e. under 40%) were serving the public in state managed institutions.
A total of 418 nurses and midwives are reported to have left for work in other countries. The rest are either employed in the private sector, self-employed or unemployed,’’ Ocan said. He said on average 1,400 nurses and midwives qualify every year from institutions. Unfortunately, the domestic labour market cannot absorb them all. He said the Ministry is in the process of formalising migration of labour by establishing modalities through bilateral agreements and regulatory framework with other countries.
© 2004 The Monitor PublicationsSome International Reaction to Export of Nurses
www.workers.org.uk/features/feat_0704/nhs.html (esp. the section 'Around the world') www.rnw.nl/development/html/nurses001208.html
Our Situation:
Uganda ranked 8th in maternal mortality
SAD SITUATION: Kuriah talking to Bundibugyo officials at the handover yesterday. UGANDA has been ranked as the eighth country with the worst maternal death rate in the world, writes Vision Reporter.
The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) country representative, James Kuriah, yesterday said Uganda loses 505 women out of every 100,000 live births.
“This maternal mortality rate has earned Uganda position number eight, compared to other countries that have limited social services due to civil conflict, despite the fact that it has achieved remarkable socio-economic progress over the last 17 years,” Kuriah said. He was speaking at the handover of two ambulances, worth sh50m, to Bundibugyo district.
Kuriah said Bundibugyo was one of the worst hit districts in the country. He said despite Uganda’s good performance in fighting AIDS and providing education, it performed poorly in reducing maternal deaths. “The factors underlying high maternal mortality in Uganda is inaccessibility to health care centres, poor quality services, untrained staff, absence of referral sevices and inadequate supplies of drugs and equipment,” Kuriah said. Area MP Jane Babiiha, the LC5 chairman, Jackson Bambalira and district councillors attended.
New Vision: Wednesday, 7th July, 2004
Incentive to Export Nurses:
Poor states to get brain drain pay - AU
By Paul Udoto
June 4, 2004
NAIROBI — Developing countries, which lose their health professionals to rich countries, will be compensated under a new deal. Health Assistant Minister Gideon Konchella said members of the African Union won the concession from rich member states of the World Health Organisation.
The two groups struck the deal at the just ended 57 World Health Assembly. Konchella led the Kenyan delegation, which included the Director of Medical Services, Dr James Nyikal and three senior officials from the Ministry of Health. “The African Union pushed the agenda of compensation as one voice and we will jointly negotiate the terms like the European Union does,” he said.
He was briefing journalists recently at his Afya House office, Nairobi, about the resolutions reached during the WHO meeting held in Geneva from May 17 to 22. Other key issues discussed at the assembly included scaling up HIV treatment, improving reproductive health, road safety ad tobacco control.
Konchella said it was now the government's job to negotiate alongside other African states on how they can be compensated for spending on training doctors and nurses. Kenya was elected to the WHO board for this year, a post to be held by Dr Nyikal. Dr Kenneth Chebet, the National Aids and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control Programme director, was appointed the Aids coordinator for the Commonwealth Secretariat for East, Central and Southern Africa and will be based in Arusha.
Delegates at the assembly also resolved that WHO would regulate the migration of health professionals for rich nations to “offset the effects of migration on health systems in developing countries”.
© 2004 The Monitor Publications
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