History and roots of the Faculty of Public and Environmental Health (FPEH)

FPEH has glorious history deep rooted in the foundation of the Sudan medical and health training and education traditions. The FPEH was started in 1933 as School of Hygiene. Our first students were; Dr. Khalaf Allah Babikerthe Sudanese poet , doctor and minister of information in 1964 government who worked actively with World Health Organization to compact Malaria and Schistosomiasis in Africa. The second student was Mr. Mohammed Mahommod Elmalik, one of the medical students at Kitchener school of medicine. The first director was Mr G. A. Glass, Chief Public Health Inspector at Sudan Medical Service, Khartoum. The syllabi of courses at that time followed the Royal Sanitary Institute. The Royal Institute was responsible for the appointment of the examining board, which consisted of the Dean of Gordon College School of Engineering, the Assistant Medical Officer of Health, Khartoum and the Sudanese Bacteriologist of Stack Laboratories and the Chief Public Health Inspector. The Royal Institute issued the certificates. The duration of the course was three years. The students spent the first year at Omdurman Technical School studying general science, arithmetic, and geometry in addition to English, drawing and construction. The other two years were devoted to lectures on public health, anatomy, zoology, bacteriology, vital statistics, sanitary law, entomology and the various sanitation subjects, as well as the actual practical work under the supervision in every branch of the service.

The candidates are selected from sanitary oversees who obtained their certificate with 75% pass mark, from secondary school graduates or from those who pass the Civil Secretary’s Examination.

The School of Hygiene, where the teaching took place was housed within the Graphic Museum of Kitchener School of Medicine.

In 1954, the Sudanese self-ruling government took over the school from the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan colonial government and appointed Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim Idris the first Sudanese dean of the School. However, the education and scientific links with the British certification system for public health inspectors continued and the school continued providing the Royal Society of Health (also known as the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, est.in 1876) until 1973 and even after.

In that year the school became part of the higher education system in Sudan. In 1988, the name was changed to Faculty of Health and Environmental Studies, and scientific research became an integral part of its goals.

In 1991, the faculty joined the University of Khartoum and was renamed as “Faculty of Public and Environmental Health”. Moreover, the fifth year honour degree was added to its BSC programme. In 1995 the Master of Public and environmental health started and sooner followed by awarding PhD degrees

References:

Messinezy, D. A (1949). Bull. World Hlth Org. 2, 289-298

كلية الصحة و الدرسات البيئة المجلس الأعلى للتعليم العالي 1990