Ministry of Health commissioned two hundred and ten newly employed nurses in Maseru yesterday.

When welcoming the nurses the Director General of Ministry of Health Dr ‘Nyane Letsie, said it is for the first time in history that they employ such a large number of new nurses in the ministry.

She said the new nurses will start their work during this time when World Health Organization (WHO) has chosen 2020 as a year of nurses.

She further said 2020 will be the two hundredth year since the founder of nursing profession Florence Nightingale was born.

Dr Letsie also said the new nurses will start their work during this time, when the Government of Lesotho has decided to decentralize health services to Basotho.

During the occasion the Minister of Health Honorable Nkaku Kabi congratulated the new nurses, and thanked the Human Resource Department of the ministry for employing the nurses.

He said he had previously requested two thousand new nurses to be employed.

He further said when a patient dies he never comes back, and for this it is important that when the government has provided funds to the ministry, the hiring of nurses be prioritized not for creating employment, but for reducing the rate of diseases in the country.