HEALTH MINISTER ENCOURAGES

SWAZI DOCTORS TO COME AND WORK

IN THE COUNTRY

MBABANE - MINISTER for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Phetsile K. Dlamini has made a passionate plea to Swazi doctors currently undergoing their intensive training in South African institutes of higher learning to ensure that they come back home and work in the country.

Citing the imperativeness of heeding the Swazi slogan "home is home", the Minister emphatically pointed out that there was a glaring need for collective efforts by the citizenry to develop the country in order to acquire international recognition.

The Minister made the remarks when she was meeting students who are doing medical studies in various universities in South Africa. The majority of the medical students were coming from the Medical University of Southern Africa (Medunsa).

One of the cultures now harbored by the ministry ever since the Minister, Dr. Dlamini came into office, is to ensure that Swazi students studying health related courses outside the country enjoy constant touch with the ministry. The meeting with the students was held at the Mbabane Government hospital and was attended by, amongst others, Health-PS, Dr, John Kunene and Director of

"There is glaring need to develop our country and one way of doing this is by amassing ourselves with good education," the Minister said. "It makes me happy to see that you have now realized your calling and please make sure that the people you serve are always happy about the kind of work you are doing for them and that is all."

However, the Minister did not dismiss the fact that they would be people who would not see the marvelous work that these doctors would do in the various local health facilities.

The Minister also took the opportunity of warning the students to be extra careful and avoid incidence which would lead them to acquire the worldwide dreaded disease, HIV and AIDS. "We would want to see you emaciating and eventually dying from AIDS related illness soon after graduation because the world, in particular Swazis, wants to see you improving the standard of health in the kingdom by reducing the incidence of HIV and AIDS.

The students also had the opportunity to inform the Minister regarding the multiple problems they were encountering with their sponsors. Some of the students reported that they were not getting their allowances on time, which their lives in the university to be pretty difficult.