Maravi

Prof Mulla urges strengthened local post-graduate training

Prof Mulla urges strengthened local post-graduate training
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe and Bright Mukwasa
Tuesday March 11, 2008 [03:00]

UNIVERSITY of Zambia (UNZA) Dean of School of Medicine Professor Yakubu Mulla has said strengthening the local post-graduate training provides the most effective mechanism of reducing brain drain. And health minister Dr Brain Chituwo has called for strengthening of working relationships between local medical doctors and the corporate world.

In an interview last Friday after Lafarge Cement Plc and Doctors Outreach Care, a non-profit volunteer organisation established in 2005 by a group of Zambian doctors serving in the public health sector that launched a mobile healthcare service, Prof Mulla said locally trained doctors had proved to be more ‘patriotic’.

Prof Mulla, however, observed that the levels of patriotism among medical doctors varied although the levels of training and personal emoluments had an impact on the levels of patriotism.

“Obviously, you can’t stop doctors from leaving for greener pastures. In spite of that, the patriotism is there. There are some other things like qualifications …when they go out for training, especially at specialist level and that’s is when some of them don’t come back but those we have trained locally on our masters programmes, we have had success.

From the masters programmes that we started training locally in 1982, most of them are still here like the managing director of UTH (Dr Peter Mwaba) but those we sent out for training outside the country, our experience is that those are the ones who don’t come back,” said Prof Mulla.
The country has been grappling to contain brain drain in the health sector.

Mobile Health Care is an inbuilt clinical facility that is mounted on a light truck and is designed to go outposts to offer outreach medical services.

And health minister Dr Brain Chituwo called for strengthening of working relationships between local medical doctors and the corporate world.

Dr Chituwo said the partnership between Lafarge and Doctors Outreach Care would go a long way in helping the delivery of health service in the country.

“As government, we continue to face the challenge of resources and to see complimentary efforts such as yours is very encouraging indeed,” said Dr Chituwo.

“We as government would like to commend you sincerely. Such collaboration should be encouraged as it is a very effective way of helping to curb brain drain that our country, though to a reduced degree now, continue to experience.”

Labels: EDUCATION, YAKUBA MULLA

posted by MrK @ 4:45 AM