The National Universities Commission, NUC, has approved the commencement of programmes in Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy at the Novena University, Ogume, Delta State, Nigeria.
Novena University had earlier started the delivery of other Health Sciences programmes like Nursing, Doctor of Optometry, Medical Laboratory Science, Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology, Public and Community Health which is offered up to PhD specialising in Public Health, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Health Information Systems, Primary Healthcare and Environmental Health.
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The University also secured €100 million from a German Development Bank to build 240-bed high standard facilities Teaching Hospital.
The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nduka Godwin Chukwuenweniwe, said it becomes necessary for the institution to contribute its quota to the current global shortfall in medical personnel.
“We have analysed the supply of healthcare workers globally and seen the shortages in the supply of such Professionals, we decided to venture into this critical area,” he said.
According to him: ”South Africa has 393 nurses and 74 doctors per 100,000 people, as compared to the United States 901 nurses and 247 doctors per 100,000 people.
“Nigeria (Africa’s most populous country) has only 23,000 physicians for its population of over 150 million.
“This is a ratio of only about 18.5 physicians per 100,000. There is an obvious need for healthcare professionals all over the world and our interest is to add to the existing number.
“The adequate supply of health care professionals has been a serious issue for developed countries in the last few decades”.
He said the University seeks to fill the gap in the shortage of medical personnel nationally and internationally.
Novena University also disclosed that it is pioneering the establishment of a College of Computing and Telecommunications, which will run NUC-approved courses in B.Sc. Software Engineering, B.Sc. Cyber Security, B.Sc. Information Systems, B.Sc. Information Technology, and B.Sc. Telecommunications Technology.
