Health workers ask for training school

The structure for the nurse’s training school was established in 1957 but was abandoned in 1972 after commissioning of Moyo hospital.

Health workers in the Madi sub-region have asked government to consider the need for setting up a nursing training school in Moyo District.

The health workers comprising medical doctors and nurses, and supported by several residents within Adjumani and Moyo districts, said they have made a similar proposal to the government in 1972 but it has not yielded any fruit.

According to them, the ideal site for the proposed training school has already been secured and are only waiting for their proposal to be considered. They made this call in a meeting in Moyo with the director general of health services, Dr Ruth Aceng.

The district health officer, Dr Jimmy Opigo, confirmed that there was need to establish a nursing school in the area because most health facilities had failed to attract competent staff.

“It is time the government listened to our plea since some of the available health workers in the area have shifted to South Sudan for greener pastures, and new ones could not be attracted because the area was declared as a hard-to-reach place,” Dr Opigo said.

Increased demand
Dr Ruth Aceng said it is true that due to high population growth, the demand for nurses, especially, midwives, has shot up.
She said she would forward the concerns before the inter-ministerial committee of Parliament because it is a policy matter.

It is the mandate of the Ministry of Education and Sports to set up nurse training schools through consultation with the Ministry of Health.

West Nile sub-region, which consists of eight districts, has only Arua and Kuluva Nursing training schools which also attract students from the neighbouring South Sudan and DR Congo.

Two years ago, there was a mass exodus of nurses from Moyo and Adjumani to South Sudan due demand of their services in the country.
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