International Women's Day was an opportunity for Johnson & Johnson and the School of Nursing and Midwifery in East Africa to celebrate their 15-year partnership.
At the celebration, three women alumni, who were able to enroll in the bachelor of nursing programme, with the support of Johnson & Johnson Corporate Citizenship Trust funding, spoke about their professional experiences in the field.
Caroline Ndichu based at Githunguri Health Centre in Kiambu County, Anastashia Mbatha
serving at Kenyatta National Hospital and Diana Kassaman who is teaching at SONAM and now pursuing her PhD recounted how their education had changed how they practiced nursing.
"Being a nurse has been the best experience in my life," Anastashia Mbatha remarked. “The confidence and knowledge I gained at AKU has also benefited my institution [Kenyatta National Hospital] in different ways. Immediately after my training, I was appointed a Clinical Instructor in my current department, a position I hold to date. Teaching is a passion in me and therefore I fit so well in this clinical teaching because I mentor student nurses, nurse interns and nurses sent for nursing council orientation in the hospital.”
Jane Griffiths, Company Group Chairman of Janssen in Europe, Middle East and Africa thanked the alumni for sharing their ‘great stories’ and spoke about how the establishment of a Johnson & Johnson operations hub in Nairobi would bring together the various dimensions of the company and enhance interaction with all its partners in Kenya. This, in turn, would help in the drive to increase human resource capacity for health and promote the healthcare system in Kenya.
Commenting on the partnership with SONAM, Vittonio Sereni, Head of Johnson and Johnson in Nairobi said that the 15-year partnership laid a solid foundation for further cooperation between the two organisations. The SONAM study - Supporting Healthy Futures in East Africa - to gauge the impact of the partnership was particularly helpful as it provided an assessment of the effect of the scholarships and how nursing skills had been upgraded to improve the quality of health care and foster nurse leadership.
“This partnership also commemorates the commitment His Highness the Aga Khan has made towards the advancement of quality health care in East Africa – a commitment made over 100 years ago that continues today,” said Professor Sharon Brownie, Dean, SONAM in East Africa.
“To date, the investment has supported 2,138 nurses in East Africa. All the alumni who have benefited from this partnership are women – our contribution to International Women’s Day and the 2017 theme of women taking leadership positions in the workplace. All are doing exceptionally well in their respective responsibilities including those in rural areas.”
SONAM, she said, was grateful to Johnson & Johnson for the support and looked forward to further collaboration.
