Nurse of the Week: Yale School of Nursing Dean Ann Kurth Brings Healthcare to Africa

Our Nurse of the Week is Yale University School of Nursing Dean Ann Kurth, PhD, CNM, MPH, FAAN, who wants everyone to understand the vital importance of nurses and midwifes to healthcare systems around the globe, especially in developing regions like sub-Saharan Africa.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 80% of all healthcare worldwide is delivered by nurses and midwives. The National Academy of Medicine also says that in the US, improving the health system will rely on allowing nurses to practice to the full scope of their training.

Kurth tells News.Yale.edu, “Every day, nursing has a ripple effect in the world, given how critical and central the role is to the health of individuals, families, communities, and entire nations. In a community, there are no sustainable pathways to economic prosperity without health, and there’s no health without nurses and midwives.”

Kurth advocates for a nursing school mission comprised of three parts: furthering education, conducting scientific research, and performing service at the local, national, and international levels. Yale’s work in sub-Saharan Africa embodies this three-legged approach and nursing’s essential role in delivering health care.

According to News.Yale.edu, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 12% of the world’s population, 23%-26% of its disease burden, but less than 1% of world health expenditures. This is why delivering healthcare and education to this region is so essential, and why Yale School of Nursing faculty and students have worked in Africa in areas including HIV, palliative care, oncology, and reproductive health.

To learn more about the Yale School of Nursing’s impact in sub-Saharan Africa, visit here.