PHOTO: Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah, Health Minister
By Kelvin Gonlah, gonlahkelvin1995@gmail.com
The Liberian government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda which will help accommodate Liberia Health Workers to pursue a Master’s Degree in Global Health Delivery, Medical, and Surgical, and Medical Degree in Global Health and Medical Surgery in Rwanda for six and a half years.
UGHE is a university based in Rwanda, which aims to change the way that healthcare is delivered around the world by creating leaders who are qualified in sustaining effective and equitable health systems in and around the world.
The MOU was signed during the World Community Health Symposium (CHS) Workers Day at the Ministerial Complex in Congo Town, outside Monrovia in March of this year. Liberia was the first country to host 446 countries and 800 participants that jointly commemorated the World Community Health Symposium Day.
The university was launched in 2015 as a not-for-profit institution in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Harvard Medical School, and the Cummings Foundation.
The university Rwanda-based University offers three main education pathways, including two bachelor’s degrees in medicine and surgery. There is one master’s degree on offer, the MSc in global health delivery. The third pathway is a range of customized certificate courses to develop professionals working in healthcare delivery systems. Known as executive education courses, these will equip learners to return to their workplaces and deliver value-based schemes.
Speaking at the recent Information Ministry’s regular press briefing (Thursday, June 8, 2023), Liberia’s Health Minister, Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah disclosed that the government of Liberia through the Ministry of Health and the Rwandan government has committed to training Liberian Health Workers.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in March of this year 2023.
According to Jallah, the program is designed for High School graduates which will help them explore their minds in global health and other medical studies in Rwanda; it’s the first medical program for Liberian students.
“What we did for the first batch of students, those who passed the WASSCE in various schools in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. When 26 students came out, we put them through another vigorous exercise and Liberians were not involved it was the Rwandan government and the partner in health did all the interviews and all the training, and out of the 26 students, only 1 student was successful after they put them through all of the challenges”, Minister Jallah informed the public.
“The Winner that was accepted for this study is David B. Zayzay who graduated from the Aware International School in the 2020-2021 class. He will join other students from Africa on the 12 of this year; when comes back, he will sign a commitment with the government of Liberia to work for six years. So we hope that all Liberians begin to study; I visited the campus in Rwanda It is a beautiful campus and all you have to do is to study. We hope that there will be many more Liberians that will go there and study,” the Health Minister added.
“We have this opportunity all expenses paid, we will take the 25 students who were not successful, we will work with them, put them through vigorous courses, how to interview and we will put them for the next program that after that it will be opened to every other students who have graduated from High School,” Dr. Jallah asserted.