The government-run Wau Health Science Institute in Western Bahr el Ghazal State on Thursday launched a three-year diploma course in pharmacy.
The institute, which has been training health workers since 2015, is set to admit 150 students for the pharmacy course’s first intake, with 70 already registered.
While giving a speech at the launch of the course at Wau Teaching Hospital, the Director General at the state health ministry, Pasquale Pual Madut, revealed that this is the third program the institute has launched.
“This is the third program in this institute; we have clinical officers, most of them are now with us at Wau Teaching Hospital, and laboratory technicians, and I think there is a batch now helping us at the hospital,” he said. “The issue of pharmaceuticals is very important for us in South Sudan, and if I am not mistaken, we do not have what we can call a college of pharmaceuticals in South Sudan. We have now started the institute, which will issue a diploma after three years [training].”
Madut urged the new students to endeavor to complete their courses, emphasizing that the state will work to affiliate the institute with the University of Bahr el Ghazal and make it a college.
Meanwhile, the Institute’s principal, Pasquale Dotaki, said the move to establish the course was inspired by the limited number of health professionals.
“In 2015, we started with one program, clinical medicine and public health, and later on we also developed laboratory medical technician and midwifery, and registered nursing. Now we thought of including the pharmacy program to complete the cycle of health services delivery to the people of South Sudan,” he stated. “We have currently recruited seventy-five students for this pharmacy program, and many students are coming, but the space is not enough.”
According to Dotaki, the institute is being supported by UNMISS, UNFPA, and International Medical Corps (IMC).
On his part, State Health Minister Michael Francis Hassan urged the new students not to let the state down, complete their studies, and serve the people of South Sudan.
“To our colleagues who have just been admitted to the Institute of Pharmacy, all of us are looking at you because in four to five years, the population of this state and the region is growing, and the growing population needs additional professional human resources, and you will help the government at all levels,” said Hassan. “We will employ you at various levels because you are needed elsewhere. You have a very big responsibility because the state, region, and the nation are looking at you.”