By Longtong Ibrahim
Kaduna (Nigeria) – The Global Entrepreneurship (GE) Foundation has announced series of new commitments aimed at addressing critical health challenges in East Africa through a sustained focus on skills development and capacity building.
One of such new commitments is the announcement of the $14.7 million to Building the Healthcare system.
This will be executed through the establishment of GE Healthcare Skills and Training Institute in Kenya (GE’s first-ever dedicated healthcare skills advancement center in Africa), and a $1.7M GE Foundation grant for Biomedical Equipment Training and Safe Surgery programs in Ethiopia.
According to the GE Africa Future of Work White Paper, titled, ‘Building Strong Workforces to Power Africa’s Growth,’ Sub-Saharan Africa will need to create an average of 15-20 million new jobs per year over the next three decades to meet the current challenge of unemployment.
The paper says the health sector is faced with critical workforce shortages, with Africa ranking the lowest in the availability of health personnel; having 12% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s burden of diseases, Sub-Saharan Africa has only 3% of the world’s health workforce.
Hence, in the White Paper, the African urbanization story underscores the need for Governments and their partners to invest aggressively in enhancing skills.
The President and CEO of GE Healthcare Africa, Farid Fezoua, said, “Investing in the training and education of healthcare professionals to strengthen capability building is one of the greatest enablers for sustainable healthcare development.
“GE Healthcare’s education strategy integrates technology and localization in the design and deployment of tailored education solutions including the establishment of new healthcare training centers, locally configured curricula and a range of education partnerships with leading regional academic institutions and global partners.
“As a major force for change, we aim to increase access to localized education, training and skills development programs for more healthcare workers across Africa.”
Source: Africa Prime News
