Sudan Relief Fund provides ongoing support for the Catholic Health Training Institute (CHTI), an educational facility working on the front lines to provide long-term solutions for the healthcare crisis in this nation. Sudan Relief Fund teams with partner organization, Solidarity with South Sudan, to fund and operate the Catholic Health Training Institute located in Wau, which trains young South Sudanese men and women to become nurses and midwives.
More healthcare workers are desperately needed in South Sudan, and none more so than nurses and midwives. With a mother/infant mortality rate ranking worst of all nations in the world, improving maternal healthcare is a top priority.
CHTI has been educating students to earn their Diploma in Nursing (RN) since 2010, and a second certification was added in 2012 to earn a Diploma in Midwifery (RM). Students from all over the country of South Sudan come together at the training facility, with the goal of returning to their communities to give more people access to compassionate and professional healthcare.
At the school, students are provided food and housing, and live onsite in a dormitory setting throughout their training. As part of their accountability, every student receives a small plot of land they are required to cultivate, contributing to the overall food supply and needs of the school.
Students from the CHTI are the first in their nation to achieve the official Registration of Registered Nurses (RN and RM) designation. The program requires three years of academic study followed by mentorship in a clinical practicum. Students conduct their practical training in clinics and hospitals around the country, gaining hands-on experience, and filling a vital need to assist doctors in healthcare settings where the supply of qualified workers is constantly overwhelmed by the demand.
From 18 students at its beginning in 2010, the Catholic Health Training Institute has grown to 89 students enrolled, 60 of these being young women, a significant figure in a country like South Sudan. To date, CHTI has graduated 227 students, 154 who are nurses and 73 certified midwives. 30% of the graduates are women, and 83% of the school’s graduates are currently employed in their field in Mission Hospitals or related NGOs around the country.
Through the faithful support of our donors, Sudan Relief Fund continues to maintain this critical training center, to increase workers in the field and bring vitally needed nursing and midwife care to a struggling people.