The Republic of Korea (South Korea) is keen on helping Africa to improve its healthcare systems, a delegation of South Korean MPs who visited the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, disclosed today.
Jun Hye Sook, a Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, who led the delegation of three MPs who visited the EAC Secretariat, said that the country had put in place a programme to train African doctors, medical experts and nurses in South Korea.
“Korea is aiming at teaching doctors and medical experts who will return home to serve their people,” she said.
“We also have Korean experts coming to African to build capacity among their African counterparts,” adding that the country was also contributing towards the upgrading of health infrastructure on the continent.
Hon. Sook and her team who held talks with the EAC Secretary General, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko, and other EAC officials, said South Korea was currently assisting in the construction of additional facilities at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Hon. Sook said her country was particularly keen on assisting African families who can’t afford to access quality healthcare due to abject poverty. The legislator said that Korean medicines were of world class quality.
The delegation, however, informed the Secretary General that Korean experts coming to East Africa were facing challenges in acquiring visas and work permits which would enable them to volunteer their services in the region.
Hon. Sook disclosed that South Korea had consistently increased her development assistance to Africa over the years with total aid quadrupling from US$107 million in 2008 to US$421 million in 2016.
“Most of the Korean aid to African countries goes towards water, health, education, energy and infrastructure development projects,” said the lawmaker.
In his remarks, EAC Secretary General Amb. Mfumukeko assured the Korean delegation that the Community would work closely with Partner States’ governments to address the issue of visa and work permits being encountered by Korean experts coming to the region to build capacity among doctors and other healthcare personnel.
He thanked South Korea for her generous assistance to the health sector, adding that the training of doctors, nurses and other medical specialists was crucial to the EAC.
“We have an ongoing programme for training of doctors, medical experts and nurses in Nairobi and Kampala. We also have programmes for strengthening the capacity of medical testing laboratories in the region. Also high on our agenda are vaccination programmes and manufacture of pharmaceuticals,” said Amb. Mfumukeko.
The SG said that the Community was keen on decentralizing health facilities from the Partner States capitals to secondary cities.
The SG said that East Africa looks up to Korea as an inspiration for development particularly in industrialization. He urged Koreans to seek partnerships and invest in the region noting that East Africa was ready to work with Korea in skills development and technology transfer.
He informed the Korean delegation that the Community had unveiled its 5th Development Strategy two weeks ago, adding that among the highlights in the Strategy are industrial development through increased investment, skills and technology transfer, and the creation of employment for the youth.
Also in the Korean delegation were MPs Kim Gyu Hwan and Song Ok-Joo and Ms. Jiin An, the First Secretary and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Korean Embassy in Dar es Salaam.
Amb. Mfumukeko was accompanied at the meeting by Eng. Steven Mlote, EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Ms. Suma Mwakyusa, Principal International Relations Officer, Mr. Julius Birungi, the Partnership Fund Manager, and Ms. Beata Mukabaranga, Principal Resource Mobilization Officer.
