Zambia’s population is growing rapidly. The United Nations estimates that the current population of close to 20 million will more than double by 2050, to 41 million. This represents a huge challenge for the health system. Around 30 percent of the health workers needed are already lacking, and in rural areas this figure is much higher.
Keyfacts of the project
The interplay of theory and practice
SolidarMed trains healthcare professionals in multidisciplinary training centres and is therefore helping to counter the drastic skills shortage. The focus is on practical training and is geared to the four most important healthcare professions in Zambia’s health system: doctors, medical licentiates, clinical officers, nurses and midwives. The decentralised dual training programme allows students to acquire practical clinical knowledge early on and to practise working in interdisciplinary teams. The students then spend the practical part of their training in the affiliated hospitals. The interaction with trainers and the hands-on skills training at patients’ bedsides enhance training quality.
Medical Licentiates
Medical licentiates are health professionals who have sufficient expertise to assist in life-threatening situations. For example, they can treat acute malaria or perform a caesarean section without the university-level knowledge of a fully-trained doctor. After completing their training, medical licentiates can also manage a health centre.
Medicine is teamwork
The multidisciplinary training centre at Kafue District Hospital opened in 2022 and is the first of its kind in Zambia. Here, trainees from different health professions can practise working together in what are known as Skills Labs. Four such training centres are to be set up in collaboration with Zambia’s Ministry of Health.
Improving training quality
SolidarMed advises the Ministry of Health and the training institutions on designing cost-effective and innovative courses and vocational training. E-learning methods and classrooms in which students can practise under real-life conditions contribute to the success of the dual training programmes. SolidarMed provides the necessary infrastructure. In the longer term, it is not only the health system that benefits from qualified staff, but also the approximately 10 million people in rural Zambia.
We are delighted and incredibly proud to open the first multidisciplinary training centre in Zambia.
John Tierney, SolidarMed Country Director, Zambia (May 2023)
