The Ghana-SickKids Paediatric Nurse Training Program was designed as an intensive one-year program to equip nurses in Ghana with essential knowledge, clinical skills, and professional experience in child health to prepare them to be leaders and mentors in their field.
Between SickKids, the University of Ghana, the Ghana Health Services and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, this accredited training program was the very first of its kind in all of West Africa. In the first three years of the program, 223 Ghanian nurses successfully completed the training—a big step towards the ultimate goal of training 1000 to 1500 paediatric nurses in Ghana over the next 10-15 years. In a part of the world where nurses are often the only available health professionals in rural and remote regions, paediatric training serves a vital role in improving the health and welfare of children.
The Paediatric Nurse Training Program was funded by Global Affairs Canada, the SickKids Foundation, and the Charles & Rita Field-Marsham Foundation. With Charles a previous board member at SickKids, and our foundation a long-time champion of health and education initiatives in Africa, the program was a perfect fit with our mission. Not only did the program fill an immediate need, but it has encouraged broader positive momentum that will ultimately lead to happier, healthier children in Ghana and beyond.
