Nursing school

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Healthcare crisis in South Tanzania

One obstacle to achieve a functioning health system for all of Tanzania is the chronic shortage of qualified medical staff. The situation is particularly bad in the south: hardly a well trained doctor or a skilled nurse volunteers to move to the underdeveloped south of the country. They all find well paid job in the north of Tanzania or by the coast.

Until recently, the Tunduru District did not have training facilities for nursing staff - hence, there were no local nurses to draw on. Whilst in Germany it is still not quite clear how to solve her healthcare crisis, the region around KIUMA sees light at the end of the tunnel: in 2007, wortundtat established a nursing school with 120 vocational training opportunities. Here, secondary school graduates are trained to become nurses in three-year training courses. Some of them will remain in the district and fill the large number of vacancies at the hospital and in the regional medical wards. Even during their training, the apprentices provide vital assistance for the always well frequented hospital in KIUMA.

The first attendants of the nursing school sat their final exams in July 2010. Almost all graduates passed their exams and are now above all available to the regional labour market. By employing many of them, the KIUMA Hospital too was able to put an end to its healthcare crisis. Nobody - including future graduates - needs to worry about his or her job: the demand for nurses is great throughout Tanzania.