By: Rancy S. Teewia
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana welcomed a delegation from its sister body, the Liberian Nursing and Midwifery Board for a weeklong understudy programme in Accra, in a bid to help improve on Nursing and Midwifery services in Liberia.
The visit came against the backdrop of Ghana’s stringent regulatory systems in respect of nursing and midwifery training, education and practice which has earned international recognition.
Apart from similar visits by delegations from countries such as Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania and Ethiopia, the latest visit by Liberia’s four-member delegation was led by Mr. Humphrey Gibbs Loweal, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Nursing and Midwifery of Liberia and accompanied by the Registrar of the Board, Mrs. Ceceilia Chuchu Kpangbala-Flomo. Also on the delegation are Mrs. Deddeh Helen Flomo Jones, Chairman of Item Construction, and Mrs. Darboi Garmi Korkoyah, Monitoring and Evaluation Director.
The objective of the week-long visit is to afford them an opportunity to understudy the operations of the N&MC in respect of the conduct of the online licensing examination, registration, general operations and how to deal with complaints and inquiries among others.
The delegation also paid a courtesy call on the Netherlands High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr. Ron Strikker, and commended him and his government on the support to the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana to strengthen its capacity in the conduct of online licensing examination for nurses and midwives. They also discussed how best the Embassy could support them in that regard.
In a presentation at the Head Office of the N&MC in Accra, Mr. Humphrey Gibbs Loweal explained that Liberia has had plans to improve its regulation to widen its existing nursing and midwifery regulation which was enacted in 1948.
“When we did some research, it was found that Ghana has one of the good regulations of nursing and midwifery training, education and practice. So it was decided that we pay a physical visit rather than reading the regulations on the website. So that was why we constituted a team to come and get the experience of Ghana”, Mr. Loweal explained.
He said that the team would also learn from Ghana’s challenges and was hopeful that it would not repeat them in their quest to achieve a near perfect nursing and midwifery training, education and practice for Liberia.
Addressing the delegation, Mr. Felix Nyante, Registrar of the N&MC, Ghana said previous collaborations by the Council and other countries and agencies across the globe coupled with its stringent regulation and the introduction of the online licensing examination, among other innovative services have made the Council gained tremendous recognition.
The Registrar disclosed that the Council is in the process of ensuring that about 90% of its services, including registration, renewal of a license, and continuous professional development among others are digitized by the end of this year.
He added that the Council would continue to provide professional support to countries that want to strengthen their nursing and midwifery regulations. Mr. Nyante noted that the visit would help the Liberian government set up an effective regulatory framework for nursing and midwifery professionals.
The Liberian Board for Nursing & Midwifery (LBNM) was established in 1949 under the Nurse Practice Act of 1948. In 1952, the Board began licensing practicing nurses and midwives who were admitted to the Board as auxiliary members. In 1958 the Liberian Council of Midwives was established to assist with the implementation of the Board’s functions. The Council was merged into the Liberian Board for Nursing & Midwifery in 1975.
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