Present at the event was Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i who stated that they will soon increase the number of Medical training Colleges across the country to bridge the gap on demand for training in the medical field which outstrips the available opportunities in public training institutions.
“The genius of the Afya Elimu Fund is that it assures Kenyans a steady supply of skilled health workers giving them hope of having more demand than supply in the near future,” said the Education CS. “To its credit, this Fund is not just about new workers but it also seeks to ensure access to training for health workers in the mid-level cadres.”
On her part, Chief of Party FUNZO Kenya Caroline Karutu appealed to County governments and the private sector to join the initiative and supplement its efforts in order to support more students.
“We are telling County governments that they can set aside money and state that it is specifically for their constituents. All we want to do is enable middle level medical students to access training,” stressed Dr. Karutu.
Established in 2013, The Afya Elimu fund (AEF) is a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative aimed at providing tuition for needy students in Medical Training.
The loan is repayable at an interest of 4% with beneficiaries afforded one year post graduation grace period.
The fund focuses on Middle level cadres such as nursing, Laboratory technologists and clinical officers among others.
Three years since it was established, AEF has raised over Ksh.500 million and supported over 9,000 students.
The fund targets to raise Ksh.1.5 billion to support 20,000 students by 2018.
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