Nurses and midwives are the backbone of healthcare

By Jemimah Kimeu, Chief Nursing Officer at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi

International Nurses Day (IND) is celebrated around the world on May 12th each year to mark the contributions nurses make to society. The date coincides with the birth anniversary of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale.  The theme for this year as chosen by the International Council for Nurses (ICN) is “Nurses: A voice to lead - Nursing the world to health" demonstrates the central role played by nurses in addressing a wide range of health issues across different populations and settings.

This year is special in that the World Health Organization (WHO) designated it as the year of the Nurse and the Midwife to showcase the professions, highlight the challenging conditions they often work in and to advocate for increased investment in the nursing and Midwifery workforce.

Indeed, the acknowledgment of nurses and midwives globally could not have come at a more opportune time. The Covid-19 pandemic placed nurses in the limelight of the emergency response, overcoming their own fears to provide compassionate care to those affected by the disease. Nurses have demonstrated courageous response to the pandemic that is true to their calling, serving mankind selflessly amid medical risks to themselves and their families.  The pandemic has also brought to the fore the support that nurses need in order to protect and improve the health of people.

Coming home, I am extremely proud of you and wish to acknowledge all of you for your efforts to provide care to the people we serve, from the outreach centers to the main hospital. 

With the emergence of Covid-19, I have seen you demonstrate courage, overcoming the fears that gripped the whole country with the first covid positive patient. With the first covid admission at our hospital some nurses confidently volunteered to take care patients. This gesture helped to calm everyone else around them. From then on nurses across specialties have cared for the Covid-19 patients with professionalism. Nurses in outreach centers have managed suspected cases well, only referring when necessary.

 I also wish to thank those of you who have ensured continuity of care and services for other patients. It is important that those other patients are not forgotten in the wake of corona virus.

Nurses and midwives' contribution, sometimes not visible or acknowledged world over, is the undisputed back bone of healthcare.

Congratulations to all the nurses of AKUH, N and International Nurses Day!

By Jemimah Kimeu, Chief Nursing Officer at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi.