Addis Ababa, January 25, 2025 (FMC) — As part of an annual scholarship for the year 2024/25 academic year, 57 students are undertaking Ethiopian Residency Matching Program (ERMP), a professional examinations to specialize in various medical specialties in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia’s Ambassador to South Sudan, Nebil Mehdi, visited the Professional Examination Center. After his visit, Ambassador Nebil said, “Ethiopia is a strategic partner of South Sudan, sponsoring the largest number of scholarships for South Sudanese students in Undergraduate, Postgraduate and TVET in various fields of studies than any country”.
The envoy highlighted Ethiopia’s focus and a profound commitment on capacity building and human development program by mentioning 629 scholarships awarded this academic year alone.
Dr. Harriet Akello Pasquale, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of South Sudan showed appreciation for the great initiative by Ethiopia and expressed her gratitude to the government for the consistent support since 2014.
The Undersecretary said that nothing is important like investing in human resources development; also, there is no health service delivery without health workforce, by underlining health workforce as a priority.
She emphasized the critical nature of investing in human resources, particularly in the health sector, as the foundation for effective healthcare delivery and achieving universal health coverage.
A representative from the Ethiopian Ministry of Health further highlighted the positive impact of the scholarship program, celebrating the contributions of the graduates to their community and acknowledging the collaborative efforts of the Ethiopian Embassy and Dr. Gabriel Loi, the program’s mastermind.
Ethiopia’s scholarship program for Medical Students started in 2014. So far, more than 100 medical doctors’ (specialists) graduated in 22 medical specialties programs. This initiative shows the deep-rooted cooperation between the two sisterly countries, as per the Embassy of Ethiopia in Juba.