Ghana’s Nursing and Midwifery Council’s stringent regulatory systems in respect of nursing and midwifery training, education and practice seem to be earning its global applause.
This is because more countries continue to send delegates to understudy the operations of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana.
There have been similar visits by countries, such as Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania and Ethiopia to the Council in recent times.
The latest to visit the Council is a four-member delegation from the Board of Nursing and Midwifery, Liberia.
The Liberian Board for Nursing & Midwifery (LBNM) was established in 1949 under the Nurse Practice Act of 1948.
In 1952, the Board began licensing practising nurses and midwives who were admitted to the Board as auxiliary members.
In 1958 the Liberian Council of Midwives was established to assist with the implementation of the Board’s functions.
The Council was merged into the Liberian Board for Nursing & Midwifery in 1975.
The delegation was led by Mr. Humphrey Gibbs Loweal, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Liberia and accompanied by the Registrar of the Board, Mrs. Ceceilia Chuchu Kpangbala-Flomo, Mrs. Dedeh Helen Flomo Jones, Chairman of Item Construction and Mrs. Darboi Garmi Korkoyah, Monitoring and Evaluation Director.
The objective of the weeklong visit was to afford them an opportunity to understudy the operations of the Council in respect of the conduct of the online licensing examination, Registration, General Operations and how to deal with complaints and enquiries among others.
This was achieved through interaction with the Management team of the Council during which a PowerPoint presentation on the mandate and functions was made, a tour of the various units and departments at the Council’s head office.
The delegation also paid a courtesy call on the Netherlands High Commissioner to Ghana Mr. Ron Strikker to commend him and his government on the support to the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana to strengthen its capacity in the conduct of online licensing examination for nurses and midwives. They also discussed how best the Embassy could support them in that regard.
In a presentation at the Head Office of the Council in Accra, Mr. Humphrey Gibbs Loweal, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Liberia, explained that Liberia has had plans to improve its regulation to widen its existing nursing and midwifery regulation which was enacted in 1948.
“When we did some research, it was found that Ghana has one of the good regulations of nursing and midwifery training, education and practice. So it was decided that we pay a physical visit rather than reading the regulations on the website. So that was why we constituted a team to come and get the experience of Ghana”, Mr Loweal explained.
He said that, the team will also learn from Ghana’s challenges and they are hopeful that they will not repeat them in their quest to achieve a near perfect nursing and midwifery training, education and practice for Liberia.
Mr. Loweal also disclosed that the visit has accorded them the opportunity to appreciate the need to always engage and sensitize stakeholders, especially the media to educate and assure the Liberians that their work is purpose driven to ensure quality, accessibility and their safety, which Ghana, according to them has been able to implement to the latter.
On her part, the Chairperson of the 14th Governing Board of the Council, Rev. Veronica Mina Darko revealed that the Liberian delegation was not the first to have come to learn from the Council and described their visits as very refreshing.
“We should all be proud of ourselves to learn that an international regulatory authority, has chosen to come to Ghana to understudy Nursing and Midwifery Council and this is the second time this year that they are coming, she said excitedly.”
Mr. Felix Nyante, Registrar of the Council said, previous collaborations by the Council and other countries and agencies across the globe coupled with its stringent regulation and the introduction of the online licensing examination and among other innovative services, have made the Council gained tremendous recognition.
The Registrar disclosed that the Council is in the process of ensuring that about 90% of its services, including registration, renewal of license, continuous professional development and among others are digitized by the end of this year.
He continued by saying that, the Council will continue to provide professional support to countries who would want to strengthen their nursing and midwifery regulation.
Mr. Nyante noted that the regulatory visit would help the Liberian government set up an effective regulatory framework for nursing and midwifery professionals.