ACTING Health Minister, Peter Daka has said the withdrawal of funds by donors has resulted in the closure of some medical institutions around the country.

Mr Daka said in an interview in Lusaka on Wednesday that some nursing and related schools, which had been getting support from the donor community through the Government, had failed to meet their costs and had suspended their operations.

"The Government had allowed the establishment of private institutions which would offer medical courses on the arrangement that it makes available a certain amount of their operation costs, but it has not been able to make those funds available since the withdrawal of funds by donors," he said.

Mr Daka said the Government was not sure of when the donors would make funds available to his Ministry, but that the training institutions had to resume their operations as soon.

He said the Ministry of Health was currently discussing with the Ministry of Finance on making funds available to the institutions, saying there was need for the institutions to open because the country needed more health practitioners.

He said the Government was committed to providing quality health care for Zambians and it would do everything in its power to make the service available to the people.