USA pumps E18m into nursing leadership initiative
MBABANE - The United States of America’s (USA) Government through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has invested E18 million in the Eswatini Nursing Leadership Initiative (ENLI).
This initiative is in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to equip nurse leaders with robust leadership skills, personal and professional resiliency, and the ability to identify and respond to new and emerging public health threats.
Eswatini is among seven African countries selected to benefit from this initiative. The investment was announced by the acting Deputy Chief of Mission, Jolanta Mikiewicz, during the launch of the ENLI by Prime Minister (PM) Russell Dlamini at the Hilton Garden Inn yesterday morning.
Mikiewicz said the nursing initiative acknowledges the indispensable role nurses play in caring for the community and safeguarding against public health threats in Eswatini. She said nurses have been, and continue to be, in the frontlines of national emergencies. “Their unwavering dedication to this work has propelled Eswatini towards achieving HIV/AIDS epidemic control, combating the scourge of tuberculosis, administering life-saving immunisations to countless children and most recently, serving as the nation’s first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Although nurses are the backbone of the HIV/AIDS response here and globally, they are underrepresented in leadership positions in the health sector. This can and should change,” Mikiewicz said. According to Mikiewicz, one of PEPFAR’s mandates is focused on the elevation of nurses and the nursing profession. She stated that since 2005, PEPFAR has invested more than E15.5 billion (US$860 million) in Eswatini’s fight against HIV, and a big part of that investment has been in nurse workforce training, skill building and quality management.
She explained that the nursing leadership initiative would equip 500 emerging nurse leaders with robust leadership skills, personal and professional resiliency on and the ability to identify and respond to new and emerging public health threats.
Promising
“In building on the talents of well trained young professionals with long promising careers ahead of them, this initiative will set the nurses up to take on even greater levels of responsibility, better utilise data to identify and respond to concerning disease trends, and to improve the health and wellbeing of emaSwati everywhere,” she said.
Mikiewicz went on to state that with this infusion of resources, the ENLI would advance three priorities identified by the nursing community and the Ministry of Health, priorities that would lead toward national sustainability and health security priorities. She said this would foster the leadership capacity of young nurse leaders through training and mentorship programmes, build public health emergency response and field epidemiology skills among frontline nurses and develop a workplace culture that prioritises and actively supports nurses’ wellness, as a critical factor for performance and retention.
“The US Government, through PEPFAR, is proud of this programme which will elevate nurses and equip the workforce with the leadership and technical skills they need to sustain the HIV/ AIDS response and support broader public health efforts.
This high-impact initiative will bolster recruitment and retention within the nursing profession, protect emaSwati from emerging public health threats, and contribute to continuous, accessible, high-quality health services for all,” she stated.
In the same vein, the PM said this initiative represents a pivotal moment in their collective journey towards achieving their health care goals as a country.
Dlamini said this initiative also aligns squarely with the global goal of ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. He stated that quality healthcare was not just fundamental, but it was a right. “During the last Sibaya, emaSwati called for, among other things, accelerated efforts to address some of the health challenges facing the country.
“This initiative, therefore, aligns with our goals as the current administration, which seeks to address the concerns raised by emaSwati at Sibaya,” Dlamini said. According to Dlamini, the launch was a significant milestone for the country’s health sector as, through this initiative, the nurses will receive the support they so desire to ensure that they perform optimally at all times.
Support
He explained that this initiative would not only strengthen their leadership role in the ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS, but also support the government’s efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery in the kingdom, to reach a target above 95-95-95 by the year 2030. “Nurses form the backbone of our health sector and the work done by nurses in the country in the past and present is well documented and greatly appreciated.
The nursing leadership initiative will build on the strong resilience of the nursing cadre,” Dlamini said.
Furthermore, Dlamini said through this initiative, government commits to, firstly, build the capacity of nurses in leadership skills as nurses serve not only as caregivers, but also as leaders within the health care system.
“Enhancing their leadership skills is, therefore, crucial for effectively managing HIV/AIDS programmes, sustaining our past gains and responding to new and upcoming public health emergency security threats.