Signpost for Wau Health Science Institue - courtes image

Wau Health Science Institute has launched its first-ever three-year pharmacy diploma course, aimed at boosting the healthcare system and helping reduce maternal mortality rates.

The program, based at Wau Teaching Hospital in Western Bahr el Ghazal State, is expected to enrol up to 150 students.

So far, 75 students have already registered.

The State Director General at the Ministry of Health, Pasquale Paul Madut, said this is the third academic program introduced at the institute this year.

“This is the 3rd program in this institute, we have clinical officers, most of them now are with us at Wau teaching hospital, and laboratory technicians and I think there is batch now helping us at Wau hospital,” said Madut.

“The issue of pharmaceutical is very important for us in South Sudan and I think if am not mistaken, I should be corrected later, up to now, we don’t have what we can call a college of pharmaceutical in South Sudan but we have now started the institute issuing diploma for three years,” he added.

Madut said efforts are underway to affiliate the institute with the University of Bahr el Ghazal to upgrade it to college level.

The institute’s principal, Pasquale Dotaki, noted that since 2015, the school has been training clinical medicine officers, public health workers, and midwives, many of whom are now serving across the country.

The program is supported by the UN, and International Medical Corps.

Meanwhile, State Health Minister Michael Francis Hassan encouraged the new students to commit to completing their studies.