Private sector rallies behind first ever nursing conference

Staff Writer | Monday October 19, 2015 12:45

Botswana Nurses Union (BONU) Secretary General, Ruth Mokgethi, said in an interview that the conference has received massive support from the private sector companies in the field of health care, finance, banking, insurance, transport, logistics as well as hospitality. She was however reluctant to reveal the conference sponsors, saying they will be unveiled during the launch of the conference.

Preparations for the conference, which will be held from November 4-6 at Fairgrounds, are already at an advanced stage as most of the delegates and keynote speakers have already confirmed attendance. The conference will be held under the theme: ”Efficient and Effective Nursing Through Evidenced-informed Practice: A Key to Improved Customer Care.”

The organising team has also embarked on a road show throughout the country to sensitise nurses and other key stakeholders about the upcoming conference. The international nursing conference is a joint venture between BONU, a private sector company called AVIWE Health Care Resource & Training Institute and the Ministry of Health (MoH) as the custodian of the health sector. BINC recently hosted a stakeholder briefing at Fairgrounds Holdings, at which Assistant Minister of Health, Alfred Madigele, praised the organisers for complementing government’s efforts to deliver quality health services to Batswana by pushing for the professional development of health workers.

Because BINC is an international nursing conference that is targeted at health sector professionals in the region, the organisers recently went to lobby nurses associations from Southern Africa to send their members to the conference. When making a presentation hosted in honour of BINC 2015 by the Southern African Network of Nurses and Midwives (SANNAM), BONU President Glan Tshenyego, said BINC is a typical public/private sector project in which all parties share the common objective of harnessing professional development in the health sector.

“That is why they have joined forces to deliver a state of the art conference that will attract over 1,000 nursing professionals, stakeholders and industry captains from all over Africa,” he said.

He explained that BINC will afford delegates an opportunity to engage through an energising and informative programme of speakers and presenters with the aim of advancing and improving coverage and quality of nursing services. For nurses in the region, said Tshenyego, BINC 2015 will provide a once in a lifetime opportunity for in-depth exchange of experiences and expertise within and beyond the international nursing community. He added that the dynamic gathering offers a unique opportunity to communicate, align and interact with clinicians, leaders and decision-makers in nursing and health care internationally.

Explaining the conference objectives, AVIWE managing director, Melvon Guga, said BINC 2015 will advance and improve the coverage and quality of health services, demonstrate the nursing contribution to the health sector as well as provide an opportunity for in-depth exchange of experience and expertise within and beyond the international nursing community.

“There is no doubt that governments in Southern Africa and the private sector must partner to address the region’s health care challenges. Our governments have invested heavily in building health facilities all over the region. As AVIWE, BONU and SANNAM, we will go further, through BINC, and help our governments to produce skilled and adequately trained health professionals who will manage these facilities and deliver quality health care,” said Guga.