Tanzania pledges to improve welfare of nurses as it marks International Nurses' Day-Xinhua

Tanzania pledges to improve welfare of nurses as it marks International Nurses' Day

Source: Xinhua| 2022-05-12 22:53:00|Editor: huaxia

DAR ES SALAAM, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania on Thursday marked International Nurses' Day by pledging to improve the welfare of nurses across the East African nation.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said Tanzania will keep investing in the health sector to further improve service delivery and the nurses' working environment.

"Happy International Nurses' Day to all nurses in our country. Your selfless service to our nation is exemplary and of paramount importance to our development," said President Hassan in her official tweet.

"I commend all nurses in the country that are working hard to save the lives of patients," the Minister of Health, Seniors and Children Ummy Mwalimu told the parliament.

Mwalimu said the government will continue improving the welfare of nurses who make up 80 percent of the health personnel in the country.

"The government also intends to employ more nurses," she told the House in Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania.

International Nurses' Day is celebrated annually on May 12 in memory of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, but also to honor nurses as an invaluable resource, and raise awareness of the challenges they face.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement issued in the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam that International Nurses' Day is marked in the context of the global COVID-19 health emergency, which has highlighted the depth of the nursing shortage in Africa, and globally.

Throughout the pandemic, nurses have made great sacrifices, acted courageously and recommitted daily to tackle a global health threat that is unprecedented in modern times, serving as an indispensable pillar supporting African healthcare systems through some very challenging times, said the statement.

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