Teso North National Government Constituency Development Fund has released Sh42 million to kick-start construction of a Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) campus in the area.
The college, to be built at Kocholya, is set to strengthen the health care system in the constituency as well as bridge the human resource health gaps.
Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, Teso North MP Oku Kaunya said the KMTC would be a fulfilment of the objectives set under the Health Pillar of the Teso North Constituency Strategic Plan 2017-2022.
He said besides minimising training costs spent by students going to far flung institutions, the new college, once complete, would economically empower the local community.
“I am appealing to Teso North residents and other stakeholders to support the project fully,” urged Kaunya.
“In the next six months, we expect the first phase of construction to be complete and the college ready for its first intake,” he said.
Once operational, the KMTC campus would offer courses that would address the needs of residents including orthopedic technology and palliative care.
Students at the new campus will use the Kocholya level 4 Sub-County Hospital which is close to the campus for their clinical experience.
Bishop John Okude hailed the MP for the initiative noting that the campus would change the lives of the locals and promote efficient delivery of health services.
He called upon the residents to seize the opportunity and empower themselves academically, socially and economically.
Present at the ceremony also were Ward representatives Grace Olita (Angurai South), Job Oteba (Angurai East), David Kokonya (Malaba South), Bernard Papa (Malaba Central), Teso North Sub County Administrator Zipporah Odikor, and Kocholya Catholic church parish priest Andrew Oundo.
Olita said the initiative was a great opportunity for the academic empowerment of the girl child in the constituency.
She urged fellow women to make use of the college once it was complete and ensure their daughters were trained in it bearing in mind that women faced the most challenges in the health sector.
Oteba, Kokonya and Papa termed the occasion as an auspicious one for the constituency and the County as a whole, and one that “is coming at an opportune time when the country is battling with the coronavirus pandemic”.
By Melechezedeck Ejakait
