Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 4/28/2006

[Guest guest]

U N I T E D N A T I O N S

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) - 1995-2005 ten years serving the

humanitarian community

[These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CONTENT:

1 - LESOTHO: Lack of healthcare workers a drain on new HIV/AIDS plan

1 - LESOTHO: Lack of healthcare workers a drain on new HIV/AIDS plan

MASERU, 27 April (PLUSNEWS) - As the Lesotho government prepares to launch a

'Know your HIV status' campaign, a shortage of qualified healthcare workers

threatens to derail plans to increase access to AIDS treatment in the mountain

kingdom.

According a nurse [who wanted to remain anonymous] at Queen Hospital,

the country's main referral hospital, 70 nurses tend to around 3,400 patients -

an average of close to 50 patients per nurse.

" There is a lot of work and given a chance I would leave the country for greener

pastures, " she said.

Lesotho's skills base has been bled by a 'brain drain' and health care services

have been particularly hard hit, with skilled medical staff seeking higher pay

abroad. HIV/AIDS has also taken its toll of health professionals.

Lesotho's 'Know Your Status' campaign, a world first, will offer confidential

and voluntary HIV testing and counselling with the aim of reaching all

households by the end of 2007.

With an adult prevalence rate of 23.2 percent in a population of 1.8 million, it

is estimated that 265,000 people in Lesotho are living with HIV/AIDS, and 49,400

are already in need of life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.

But Lesotho is short of 600 nurses, and the success of the new campaign will

depend on filling the medical staff void.

" Already the country is about to hire 200 nurses from Kenya to fill some of

these positions, " Ministry of Health's Human Resources Manager Koenene Leanya

said on a national radio station.

Leanya said 16 doctors would be employed from India and the " Clinton Foundation

has also made promises to help with extra doctors and nurses " .

" We are also revising remuneration to attract personnel into the health sector, "

he said. Currently a basic monthly salary for a nurse with a general nursing

education is R2,900 [uS $470] while for midwives the salary is R3,200 [uS $520].

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[This item comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information

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Affairs.]

PLUSNEWS

Tel: +27 11 895-1900

Fax: +27 11 784-6759

Email: Mail@...

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Subscriber: AIDS treatments

[Guest guest]

U N I T E D N A T I O N S

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) - 1995-2005 ten years serving the

humanitarian community

[These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CONTENT:

1 - LESOTHO: Lack of healthcare workers a drain on new HIV/AIDS plan

1 - LESOTHO: Lack of healthcare workers a drain on new HIV/AIDS plan

MASERU, 27 April (PLUSNEWS) - As the Lesotho government prepares to launch a

'Know your HIV status' campaign, a shortage of qualified healthcare workers

threatens to derail plans to increase access to AIDS treatment in the mountain

kingdom.

According a nurse [who wanted to remain anonymous] at Queen Hospital,

the country's main referral hospital, 70 nurses tend to around 3,400 patients -

an average of close to 50 patients per nurse.

" There is a lot of work and given a chance I would leave the country for greener

pastures, " she said.

Lesotho's skills base has been bled by a 'brain drain' and health care services

have been particularly hard hit, with skilled medical staff seeking higher pay

abroad. HIV/AIDS has also taken its toll of health professionals.

Lesotho's 'Know Your Status' campaign, a world first, will offer confidential

and voluntary HIV testing and counselling with the aim of reaching all

households by the end of 2007.

With an adult prevalence rate of 23.2 percent in a population of 1.8 million, it

is estimated that 265,000 people in Lesotho are living with HIV/AIDS, and 49,400

are already in need of life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.

But Lesotho is short of 600 nurses, and the success of the new campaign will

depend on filling the medical staff void.

" Already the country is about to hire 200 nurses from Kenya to fill some of

these positions, " Ministry of Health's Human Resources Manager Koenene Leanya

said on a national radio station.

Leanya said 16 doctors would be employed from India and the " Clinton Foundation

has also made promises to help with extra doctors and nurses " .

" We are also revising remuneration to attract personnel into the health sector, "

he said. Currently a basic monthly salary for a nurse with a general nursing

education is R2,900 [uS $470] while for midwives the salary is R3,200 [uS $520].

[ENDS]

This is non-reply e-mail. Please do not hesitate to contact us at

Mail@....

Principal donors: IRIN is generously supported by Australia, Canada, Denmark,

ECHO, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and

the United States of America. For more information, go to:

http://www.IRINnews.org/donors

[This item comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information

service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its

agencies. All IRIN material may be reposted or reprinted free-of-charge; refer

to the copyright page (Http://www.irinnews.org/copyright ) for conditions of

use. IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian

Affairs.]

PLUSNEWS

Tel: +27 11 895-1900

Fax: +27 11 784-6759

Email: Mail@...

To make changes to or cancel your subscription visit:

http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions

Subscriber: AIDS treatments