A New Health Partnership: Florence Nightingale Foundation and Nursing Council of Kenya Join to Support the Nursing and Midwifery Workforce in Kenya
- January 30, 2024
Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) is excited to announce a new health partnership to deliver leadership support to nurses and midwives in Kenya.
This project is funded through THET’s Global Health Workforce Programme, which is funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) for the benefit of the UK and partner country health sector.
FNF and the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK) will work with Ministry of Health in Kenya, the UK-based Kenya Nurses and Midwives Association UK (KENMA-UK) and the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust to support the leadership development of mid-level nursing and midwifery managers in Kenya. The project aims to strengthen leadership performance, retention, and advocacy for better health outcomes across Kenya.
Strategic Focus on Leadership Development
Nurses and midwives make up nearly three quarters of the health workforce in Kenya.
Project partners NCK and the Kenyan Ministry of Health have already highlighted the urgent need to better equip nurses and midwives with the confidence, skills and knowledge needed to help meet the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and improve healthcare across the country.
The development of this project design draws insights from global reports, including the State of the World’s Nursing and Midwifery reports, the International Council of Nurses, Nursing Now, and the World Health Organization’s strategic framework for nurses and midwives. It aligns with the Nursing and Midwifery Policy of Kenya: effective leadership is the best way to ensure quality healthcare services, as well as improve health workforce performance and retention.
Co-design and co-delivery
Driving this project is the importance of working in partnership to ensure success. This means ensuring a tailored approach that is locally led and owned. FNF and the NCK will be working together to develop and facilitate the programme in Kenya, ensuring the inclusion of FNF experience in leadership development and the existing training and experience in the country. It will be co delivered by FNF with key Kenyan nursing and midwifery leaders and national and government oversight.
Bi-directional learning
This project will engage with nurses and midwives in both Kenya and the UK. 50 Kenyan nurses and midwives will participate in the leadership development programme whilst nurses and midwives in the UK, from the Kenyan diaspora, will be trained as mentors. This mentoring will be a two-way process, bringing together healthcare professionals working in different countries and contexts to learn from each other and to share challenges and good practice. There will also be a series of webinars for both Kenyan and UK nurses and midwives, again focused on bi-directional learning, to reach a wider audience and increase the impact.
The project also includes funding for one senior Kenyan nurse or midwife to become a FNF Scholar and will join other UK and global scholars at the start of the 12-month programme in May 2024.
The formal launch of the project is scheduled for mid-February in Kenya, where all the Global Health Workforce Programme project leaders in Kenya will convene. Face-to-face training sessions in Nairobi are set for May, accompanied by a series of webinars and mentor meetings throughout the year ahead.
This new health partnership will enhance performance, retention, and advocacy within the nursing and midwifery professions, ultimately improving care and saving lives across Kenya.
“I am thrilled and honoured to be working with colleagues in Kenya to lead and deliver this project for the benefit of nurses and midwives in Kenya. FNF is committed to developing and connecting nurses and midwives based in diverse settings around the world, and this project highlights how the work of FNF aims to support and strengthen our global workforce.” Professor Greta Westwood, CBE, Chief Executive Officer, Florence Nightingale Foundation
“I am delighted to be co-leading this new project to build leadership capacity of our middle level nursing and midwifery managers in Kenya. The different expertise of all the partners will ensure synergy and efficiency to support our workforce, and to learn as well as sharing our own experiences. Strong leadership from our nurses and midwives is the glue that keeps the other health system resources together. It is a key element in ensuring quality and safe care for our communities.” Anne Mukuna, Ag Registrar/CEO, Nursing Council of Kenya
About FNF Global
FNF Global emerged as a response to the escalating challenges in global healthcare and was launched officially at the House of Lords in March 2023. Leveraging the momentum generated by the WHO’s Year of the Nurse and Midwife in 2020 and the Nightingale Challenge, FNF Global is working with partners to explore the best ways to take its proven experience supporting nurses and midwives in the UK to both share with, and learn from, a global audience. Find out more about FNF Global here.
About The Nursing Council of Kenya
The Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK) has a mission to ensure the delivery of safe and effective nursing and midwifery care through the enforcement of standards in education and practice. With a focus on public safety and confidence, the Council strives to optimise the capacity of nurses and midwives, regulate their conduct, and collaborate with national and international organisations. The Council is a statutory body established under the Nurses and Midwives Act Cap 257 Laws of Kenya.
About the Kenya Nursing and Midwifery Association – UK
KENMA-UK represents Kenyan Nurses and Midwives in the UK. Their vision is to provide a platform where the Kenyan Nurses and Midwives can communicate and collaborate with other like-minded people or organisations, with the aim of striving for excellence. They aspire to do this through advancing their nursing profession, promoting their wellbeing, welfare and economic sustainability.
About the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest general hospital foundation trusts in the country and the main provider of acute and specialist care services for Berkshire West. The trust employs more than 7,000 staff from 89 different nationalities, and each year is responsible for over £600m of NHS resources. The trust is proud of the links it has with international colleagues, including Kenya. In fact they are one of only five trusts to have cohorts of Kenyan nurses joining via current Workforce MOU between Kenya and UK, with 64 since March 2023.
About the Ministry of Health Kenya
The Ministry of Health (MoH) is the government body whose key mandate is to build a progressive, responsive and sustainable healthcare system for accelerated attainment of the highest standard of health to all Kenyans as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya 2010. In 2013, Kenya transitioned into a devolved system of governance comprising two levels: the national government and 47 county governments. Under this system, the health service delivery function was assigned to county governments while the national government was responsible for health policy and regulatory functions, technical assistance to counties, and management of national referral health facilities.