global health scholars education fund
The need is great.
There currently exists in all of Pader District, two physicians for a population of a quarter of a million people (one of which is primarily charged with administrative versus clinical duties).
Co-founder, Oyet Patrick (right), discusses with head clinical officer, Opiyo Morish (left), about the lack of healthcare providers in Northern Uganda as one of the reasons for poor access to quality health care.
· Six individuals from Northern Uganda are receiving scholarships from Asteroidea that cover all of their tuition and living expenses to attend medical school. Read more on our scholars here.
· In return for covering these expenses, each of these individuals has agreed that upon receiving their degrees to work for at least the same number of years in Northern Uganda as they received funding (5 years for medical school scholars, 1.5 years for comprehensive nurse scholars).
· We are in the process of expanding this program to include a diverse set of individuals interested in pursuing other desperately needed healthcare professions (for example, midwives, nurses, physicians assistants, laboratory technicians, and nurse assistants).
“In this district of Pader, not only Pader but in entire Northern Uganda, we lack medical officers and that is one other factor that motivates us more to go and further our studies... in all of northern Uganda we do not have an orthopedic surgeon. And it’s my dream at one point I will become an orthopedic surgeon so that I can come and fill the gap here in the community.”