AKU's Lilian Nuwabaine has been recognised as the 2021 Midwife of the Year at the Heroes in Health Awards presented by the Ministry of Health in Uganda.
Lilian, continuous professional development coordinator at the School of Nursing and Midwifery East Africa's campus in Kampala was recognised for her contribution to midwifery training across Uganda and her advocacy for mothers, babies and midwives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I'm excited that my hard work is being recognized, supported and appreciated. The public is starting to realize that midwifery is beyond clinical practice. It also involves education and training, research and project management, leadership and management, entrepreneurship among others," she said.
Since joining SONAM EA in 2019, Lilian has delivered 74 training sessions to over 2,000 midwives and nurses across Uganda. She also developed various training modules in maternal newborn and child health, which have been accredited by the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council.
“When I was younger, I remember witnessing my pregnant aunt suffer from eclampsia, which is high blood pressure with convulsions. We were all worried that she would die, especially because the district hospital was 30 kilometres away. Luckily, we got to the hospital, and the midwives took great care of her," says Lilian. “She survived and gave birth to a lovely baby girl. After that experience, I knew I wanted to be a midwife."
Lilian hopes to see Uganda with an empowered midwifery workforce. “AKU and the German Development Bank, KfW have given me a platform where I have access to nurses and midwives from different health facilities across Uganda. This is through their vast network with health and non-health professionals at the health facility level, district and national levels. I plan to expand and develop more training short courses that meet the needs of midwives in Uganda. I also plan to write proposals and source grants and scholarships for midwives across the country."
The Heroes in Health Awards is a public-private partnership instituted by Uganda's Ministry of Health in 2019. This year it was held at the Serena Conference Centre on November 12 in a ceremony officiated by Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Health Minister. The awards serve to recognize outstanding individuals, entities, organisations, services, products and programmes identified by the public. It aims to motivate Uganda's healthcare stakeholders to innovate, serve the public better and embrace global trends in the delivery of efficient healthcare.
See more on the award's Twitter page.
