February 25, 2022
Medical students in a group photo with the Ambassador of Ethiopia to South Sudan, Nebil Mahdi Abdullahi, (centre) plus his staff on Thursday, February 24, 2022. [Photo: Kitab Unango/The City Review]
The Ethiopian government has finalised the process of sending the fourth batch, comprising 29 South Sudanese medical students, for post-graduate programs in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia will have so far trained 99 South Sudanese medical cadres to build South Sudan’s health system to provide quality and effective healthcare services to its citizens.
They will study under the fully-funded scholarship of the Ethiopian government. The programme covers tuition fees, accommodation, and feeding while South Sudan, through the ministry of health, facilitates their air tickets.
Speaking during the farewell ceremony for the students at the Ethiopian Embassy in Juba on Thursday, the Ethiopian Ambassador to South Sudan, Nebil Mahdi Abdullahi, assured the students of security during their years of study in the country.
“The current situation in Ethiopia is very peaceful. It is a very suitable situation for your education to continue studying peacefully, and I assure you that our embassy will also work with the South Sudanese embassy to ensure your welfare and that of other undergraduates we have sent for studies in Ethiopia, “Amb. Mahdi said.
Since 2015, the government of Ethiopia has strengthened its bilateral relations with South Sudan in health, education, capacity building, and the economy, among others.
The deputy director for medical training and professional development in the Ministry of Health, Dr Samuel Maketh, commended Addis Ababa for its efforts to build the country’s health human resource capacity.
“This is not the first time we are sending doctors to Ethiopia. We have graduated two batches from different universities in Ethiopia, and we have more than 30 students now doing their specialisation at different universities in Ethiopia,” said Dr Maketh.
According to Dr Maketh, the Ethiopian government had offered 50 slots, but only 29 were able to qualify among 78 who competed for the scholarship across the country.
The representative of the students, Reagan Taban Augustino, commended the Ethiopian government and South Sudan for aligning to the rules and regulations of the scholarship.
According to Dr Taban, the opportunity to specialise at various universities in Ethiopia will allow the medical community to upgrade and develop the health sectors in order to provide the best healthcare services to the citizens.
Dr Taban assured that the opportunities will consolidate and tie the relationship between the two sisterly countries, and we want to assure the Ethiopian people, the Ethiopian government, and the government of South Sudan of our full commitment and respect to all the laws and regulations related to the scholarship.