The International Council of Nurses President Dr. Pamela Cypriano has hailed Kenya as a pacesetter for deploying the Primary Health Care model to ensure Universal Health Coverage.
In a statement, the PS State Department for Public Health Mary Muthoni acknowledged that it is Kenya’s mission to enhance the nursing Standards in the country adding that Kenya will engage with associations like ICN to ensure our nurses get exposure to global best practices.
During a meeting with the President on the sidelines of the ongoing International Council of Nurses (ICN) Congress in Montreal Canada, Dr Cypriano commended Kenya’s bold move saying Preventive and Promotive Health is the surest strategy to accelerate attainment of UHC
“Nurses are the engines of healthcare service provision and Kenya endeavours to promote nursing as a profession and ensure they have a voice in healthcare policy and decision-making processes at the national and regional levels,” Muthoni said.
In addition, the PS said that Kenya also welcomes collaborations that support the professional development of Kenyan Nurses through various capacity-building initiatives such as the Global Nursing Leadership Institute (GNLI) program from which Kenya has benefited to have at least 8 alumni.
At the moment Kenya is engaged in the Organizational Development of National Nursing Associations (ODENNA).
A partnership of National Nurses Associations (NNA’s) in the African region is designed to strengthen NNA’s ability to influence health outcomes, build respect, recognition, and support the profession.
“We pledge to support such initiative and also continue to collaborate with ICN and the World Health Organization (WHO) to build capacity through training programs workshops, and educational resources to enhance nursing skills, knowledge, and leadership capabilities.”
Further, Muthoni said that Kenya looks forward to further engaging on opportunities and networks to enhance capacity building in the country.
“We are keen to engage WHO on campaign of 25:25:25 which aims to have 25% of health workforce trained in 25 countries by 2025,” she said.
In conclusion, the PS said that Kenya appreciates the partnerships to address common challenges, share best practices, and promote collaboration in areas such as education, research, and policy development, provision of platforms such as the ICN Congress that facilitate knowledge exchange.
