By PEZO SIABASIMBI –

The United States (US) government, through Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), has donated three buses and a utility vehicle worth K1.8 million to three training institutions in Zambia.
The training institutions are the University Of Zambia Department Of Nursing Sciences, Lusaka School of Nursing and Midwifery and Monze School of Nursing and Midwifery.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Deputy Minister of Health Dr Chitalu Chilufya said the buses were meant to ease the transportation of students to the clinical sites where they were required to provide care in the process of gaining the desired competencies.
Dr Chitalu said his ministry was pleased to receive the vehicles from the supportive partners as they would go a long way in alleviating transport problems faced by schools.
He said Government was aware of the shortage of nurses in the country and was working on not only increasing the output but also the quality of nursing and midwifery training.
“Government is aware that the provision of quality training continues to be negatively affected by the shortage of teaching aid and transport in the training institutions.  The Government is committed to ensure that the irregularity is expeditiously addressed,” he said.
Dr Chitalu has since urged the reciepient institutions to use the vehicles prudently and for the intended purposes.
“These vehicles should be jealously looked after and serviced regularly,” he said.
Speaking at the same event, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) country director Dr Lawrence Marum said increasing the number of  nurses and midwives in Zambia was critical to improve the health of Zambians.
Dr Marum said he was confident that the vehicles would help three of Zambia’s nursing programmes responding to the challenge to increase the numbers of students and improve the quality of nursing education.
Dr Marum, who spoke on behalf of the US Government, said the West was committed to working with the Government and the people of Zambia to improve the health of the general public.