UNESWA nursing students, lecturers
KUKHANYENI – The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 3 calls upon nations to ‘ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’.
To achieve the overall health goal, the SDG declaration emphasises that people must achieve universal health coverage and access to quality healthcare.
It doesn’t have to be government alone ensuring that this goal is achieved. It is understood that the private sector is also encouraged to take part in promoting and offering healthcare services to the people.
The students and lecturers of the University of Eswatini (UNESWA)’s Department of Community Health Nursing under the Faculty of Health Sciences do not want to be left out of this initiative, which seeks to ensure access of emaSwati to healthcare.
Theirs is a different case, people do not have to come to them, but they go to them.
They are attached to the community to obtain essential exposure and experience.
LEARNING
While they are still learning nursing at the university, they strike the iron while it is too hot wherein their practical aspect of the academic programme prepares them to effectively respond to all community health-related issues.
These include family nursing and epidemiology of prevailing conditions.
The UNESWA students also respond to various determinants of health, mental as well as sexual and reproductive health issues. It has been learnt that they were at KaBhekinkhosi under Kukhanyeni Inkhundla on Saturday – November 19, 2022.
It is understood that the future nurses offered services that entailed screening for diabetes mellitus (high blood sugar levels), hypertension (high blood pressure), human immune-deficiency virus (HIV), COVID-19 vaccination and treatments of ailments.
The department is led by Dr Fortunate Sindisiwe Shabalala. It has a component of mental health. It is said that they chose to focus on KaBhekinkhosi to be in a better stance to evaluate the impact that they hope to make.
Thulani Mkhaliphi, the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, who happens to an active member of the Mbuluzi Rotary Club was the guest speaker. He was invited to be the guest speaker as a known champion of community development and leadership.
COLLABORATE
The PS invited other Rotarians to collaborate with the university in this initiative. Rotary Clubs present during the health promotion event were the Rotary Club of Mbuluzi Mbabane, UNESWA Mbabane Campus and the Rotary Club of Young Professionals.
Addressing the attendants, the PS emphasised the importance of responsive community leadership, collaboration and most importantly, resilient community systems, particularly community health systems for sustainable broadbased development. He appealed to everyone in the knowledge, education and community development systems spaces to prioritise skills development focused on positive social transformation, disease prevention and happiness.
He pointed to the fact that community health nursing ‘is at the centre of such a noble objective’.
Mkhaliphi then seized the opportunity to assure the community that the road leading to the clinic would be attended to, with rotarians also putting together resources to repaint, fix the fence and donate some equipment to the community health facility.
GLIMPSE
The PS applauded UNESWA, the Department of Community Health Nursing, in particular, for reaching out to the people, giving them a glimpse of the amazing things that the students learnt as part of the nursing profession.
“We are proud of UNESWA, the lecturers and the students for this initiative,” Mkhaliphi said.
Sindiso Bhembe, a State-registered nurse who works at the National Psychiatric Referral Hospital in Manzini, was given the task to tackle all issues on mental wellness.
Dumsile Mavuso, leader of the Diabetes Eswatini, is understood to have raised awareness through an education