Beyond Zero initiative begins selection process for Nurses Awards

 

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta’s Beyond Zero Initiative has kickstarted the process of identifying nurses who will receive health awards during the Beyond Zero Summit.

In a statement, the office of the First Lady said the process began with a stakeholder consultative meeting held in Naivasha on Thursday.

The meeting included participants from all the 47 counties, Office of the First Lady, Beyond Zero, Ministry of Health, Nursing Council of Kenya, National Aids Control Council (NACC) and the Council of Governors.

Part of what was discussed during the stakeholder meeting included; online application, vetting and nomination of the nurses for the awards.

According to Beyond Zero Technical Advisor Jane Kiragu, the nurses will be awarded in recognition of their frontline role in the provision of primary healthcare at the summit that will be held in September.

She called on the participants who included NACC Regional HIV Coordinators, officers from county directorates of health and county nursing officers from all counties to be Beyond Zero ambassadors to ensure a vibrant and robust selection process of the nurses to be awarded.

"There are those who are on the frontline who continue to selflessly offer services at the community level. We will be recognising and appreciating the efforts of nurses at the Beyond Zero Summit," Kiragu said.

The nurses will receive awards in the categories of individual nurse practitioners in level 2 dispensaries and level 3 health centres as well as team awards in nurse led-initiatives in any of the level 2 to level 5 Government-run health facilities from each of the 47 counties.

The stakeholder meeting held in Naivasha was facilitated by the Beyond Zero Secretariat under Coordinator Angella Langat, Office of the First Lady’s Director of Administration Eva Maina and Communication Director Vivianne Ngugi.

A team of experts in quality improvement and Information and Communication Technology were also part of the facilitators.

The 2021 Beyond Zero Summit will focus on primary healthcare as the cornerstone of UHC and the first point of contact for most patients.   BY THE STAR