The Harare Institute of Public Health (HIPH) is starting a nursing school to support the growth in nurse training, concentrating on nursing assistants, and in support of the Second Republic’s National Development Strategy one (NDS1) and Vision 2030 of achieving health for all by 2030.
HIPH principal Dr Amos Marume said all training facilities and modalities were in place and they were now awaiting the greenlight from Government for the programme to start.
“For training of nurses, Government will avail relevant facilities such as practical learning or attachments and eventually employ graduates as required while HIPH will avail resources such as human, physical and online facilities while also providing incentives for retention of Government tutors,” said Dr Marume.
“The training of nurses also taps into the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development accredited courses namely nursing assistant equivalent to primary care nursing, home based care and child care and minding.
“We have engaged the Nurses Council of Zimbabwe regarding the accreditation and assessment of the nursing assistant course and they need approval from the Ministry of Healthy and Child Care to carry out the needed evaluations.”
Dr Marume said HIPH developed and collaborated with local and international institutions to offer various professional development courses relevant to strengthen the health system through manpower development.
“HIPH, with significant support from the local pharmaceutical sector and the regulator, is setting up a bioequivalence centre to aid local production of pharmaceuticals as well as conduct clinical trials.
“The trials will also be including herbal medicines. The institute, together with various relevant institutions, developed professional development courses aimed at enhancing local production capacity and strengthening our supply chains,” he said.
“These efforts again are expected to help drive prices of drugs down, enhance access and promote exports. HIPH has also contributed significantly in coming up with courses that, if implemented fully, will help standardise our traditional medicines and practice for more access and mainstreaming of indigenous knowledge-based solutions to our overburdened public health systems.”
Dr Marume said the bioequivalence centre would save the country a lot of foreign currency since the studies were being carried out outside the country at the moment and would also ensure drugs were tailor made to suit locals.
“MCAZ is also supporting our key desire to ensure current and relevant trainings are availed to our personnel in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) requirements.
“This will greatly support our quest to export pharmaceuticals and related services. The facilities which the HIPH has also mean we can be the training hub for the region gaining more foreign currency for the country.” – The Herald
