NAIROBI, Kenya, 10 March 2017 – Health Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Cleopa Mailu has launched a strategy to build the capacity of nurses and midwives in the country .
The CS identified the Nursing Council strategy, nursing and midwifery education and research as intervention in addressing the shortage of nurses and midwives.
“The focus is not only on increasing Kenya’s production capacity of nurses and midwives, but on ensuring that the graduates are highly skilled, competent and able to meet the health challenges of the 21st century,” the CS said during the launch of the Nursing Council of Kenya Strategic plan 2017 – 2022 in Nairobi.
The Nursing Council of Kenya Strategic plan is expected to boost the health of all Kenyans and possibly increase access to quality nursing and midwifery care services.
Dr. Mailu urged the nursing Council to increase the flexibility and diversity of its strategies in the interest of promoting safe practice. “You have my full support in your priorities and initiatives toward enhancing capacity to regulate nursing practice, as this is an important undertaking that needs to be advanced quickly,” he noted.
The CS observed that it was critical to invest in health workforce to ensure critically ill people do not lack quality nursing care and mothers and children do not die from preventable causes.
He added that the national government will continue to partner with the regulatory bodies, the county government and development partners to support initiatives that will bring better health care to the people.
“There is need to have targeted interventions to improve access to specialized nursing care and midwifery, including working closely with all players at community and facility level, county governments and other stakeholders in industries such as agriculture, transport and tourism and education to address the underlying opportunities that make the population vulnerable,” said the CS.