Atibie (E/R), Jan 25, GNA - The Midwifery/Health Assistant Training school at Kwahu Atibie has admitted 199 students this academic year.

The students are made up of 37 students to begin courses in three-year diploma in registered midwifery programmes, 53 students for a three-year Enrolled/Community Health Midwifery Health programme in post basic course for Community Health Nurses and 109 students for the 18 months Health Assistant Clinical (HAC) programme.

The Principal of the school, Mrs Paulina Osabutey, said the curriculum for the training was designed by the Ministry of Health and the Nurses and Midwifery Council of Ghana to produce adequate health personnel to improve the health delivery system in the country.

She said the course involved a combination of theory and practical content designed to equip the trainees with the necessary skills to provide professional nursing and midwifery services.

Mrs Osabutey complained about inadequate classroom for effective teaching and learning in the school as there were only four classrooms for the school's three-year programme which had compelled the school to resort to shift system.

She appealed for a bus to transport the students to the health centers in the districts for their clinical practice and also bungalows for tutors and staff of the school.

Mrs Osabutey appealed to the three districts and municipal assemblies in the area to come to the aid of the school.

The Kwahu South District Chief Executive, Mr Joseph Omari, said the assembly had embarked on several health programmes and activities that had yielded dividend in areas of reduction in maternal death, malaria and communicable diseases like cholera and tuberculosis (TB) cases in the district.

Mr Omari said the district had some health challenges to grapple with as it was recently revealed in a health review programme that the HIV/AIDS prevalent rate had increased from 2.8 percent in 2008 to 3.6 percent in mid-2009.

He said the District Government Hospital had also identified hepatitis B disease as one of the major diseases prevalent in the area which required urgent attention.

Mr Omari said the assembly had therefore purchased vaccines to help contain the situation.