On 28 April 2025, WHO Nation Representative, Dr. Fabian Ndenzako, paid a courtesy talk over with to the College of Botswana College of Nursing, a WHO Collaborating Centre (WHOCC) for Nursing and Midwifery Vogue since 1990. He was accompanied by Dr. Juliet Bataringaya, Health Programs Advisor, and Ms. Boingotlo Ramontshonyana, Focal Level for District Health Gadget Strengthening.
Dr. Ndenzako was welcomed by Professor Magowe, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences; Professor Phaladze, Deputy Dean; Dr. Samuel Matula, Head of the College of Nursing; Ms. Mosidi Mokotedi, WHOCC Coordinator; and other college participants. In her welcome remarks, Prof. Magowe offered an outline of the Faculty of Health Sciences, which encompasses the College of Nursing, College of Allied Health Professions, College of Pharmacy, and College of Public Health. She highlighted that the College of Nursing, established in 1978, is the oldest within the college. Its core mission is to plot highly skilled and well-rounded well being professionals to motivate Botswana, the African continent, and beyond. The college aligns its undergraduate and graduate practising with international standards and promotes strong analysis to inform evidence-essentially based curricula. The college additionally offers graduate applications, together with master’s and PhD levels.
Dr. Matula elaborated on the evolution of the College of Nursing, noting that it started as the Division of Nursing Education in 1978 and grew to transform a paunchy-fledged college in 2007. The college offers each undergraduate and postgraduate levels, together with the Bachelor of Nursing Science and the Master of Nursing. A PhD programme is additionally anticipated to be launched soon. Particularly, the Master of Nursing in Gerontology and Palliative Care was offered in August 2024.
Designated in 1990, the College of Nursing is a WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Vogue in Sub-Saharan Africa. Among its contributions, the college developed a model for home-essentially based care that has been shared regionally. It has played a a must have function in introducing nursing education in elevated institutions for the duration of the East, Central, and Southern Africa (ECSA) region, and has supported the institution of National Nurses Associations and Nursing and Midwifery Councils. The college has been instrumental in standardizing nursing and midwifery curricula and strengthening regulatory frameworks.
The college is a member of key regional networks reminiscent of the Consortium for Larger Education in Nursing and Midwifery in Africa (CHENMA) and the Japanese, Central, and Southern Africa Faculty of Nursing (ECSACON). It has mobilized resources for tasks reminiscent of the Adolescent Health and HIV/AIDS Mission and the Mission for Nursing Leadership. Collaborations extend beyond the authorities to incorporate the College of Pennsylvania, Rutgers College, the College of Michigan, the Most cancers Association, and tons of NGOs.
From 2018 to 2022, the WHOCC centered on strengthening the function of nursing and midwifery in lowering the burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), selling well being and wellness for the duration of the lifespan, and enhancing maternal, fresh child, puny one, and adolescent well being products and services. These efforts had been conducted in collaboration with other WHOCCs, civil society organizations, and pattern companions.
Beneath its fresh designation (March 2022 to February 2026), the WHOCC is practicing three core objectives:
1. Conducting collaborative analysis on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nursing and midwifery workforce.
2. Strengthening nursing and midwifery management in step with WHO’s Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery (2021–2025).
3. Promoting rehabilitative and palliative care products and services within the context of revitalized Foremost Health Care.
Dr. Matula reported considerable development. For the COVID-19-related analysis, the college conducted literature opinions and co-authored three publications. It additionally assessed management gaps among nurses, with one publication underway. Leadership pattern efforts included benchmarking practising qualifications and materials dilapidated in Botswana in opposition to international resources, reminiscent of these from the South Pacific GNWHOCCNM and Kamuzu College of Health Sciences. A pilot management workshop was conducted, and its outcomes documented.
To strengthen rehabilitative and palliative care, a needs overview was conducted, ensuing in the pattern of a in actuality skilled Oncology and Palliative Nursing curriculum. Dr. Matula acknowledged that whereas implementation was delayed by prolonged COVID-19 response efforts and funding constraints, global WHOCC networks and partnerships with communities and stakeholders dwell precious enablers for development.
In his remarks, Dr. Ndenzako commended the College of Nursing for its 35-12 months tenure as a WHO Collaborating Centre. He illustrious that Botswana at present hosts two WHOCCs, the second being the Botswana National HIV Drug Resistance Laboratory, designated in 2023. He praised the college’s analysis outputs and emphasised their importance in informing WHO policies.Dr. Ndenzako highlighted the changing global well being financing landscape, which calls for stronger partnerships to approach the well being agenda. He encouraged the college to doc and put up its 35-12 months trail to portion lessons with other institutions. He reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to supporting the WHOCC’s continued efforts.
In closing, Dr. Sebego thanked WHO for its ongoing collaboration and underscored the wish to withhold and strengthen the partnership.
