Strengthening emergency nursing in Africa : a strategic action plan

Standards of emergency nursing in Africa remain variable and obstacles to standardisation comprise e.g. limited country specific resources and deficiencies in educational strategy and health systems. The project aims to standardise emergency nursing across Africa over an extended duration, of benefit to emergency patients. This project is responsive to the increasing trauma and other disease burdens in the WHO Millennium Development Goals. The Institute for Health Metrics predicts that road accidents will be the fifth leading cause of death in the developing world by 2030; violent crime and conflict contributing significantly to this public health emergency. Dialogue to standardise emergency nursing practice across Africa emerged over five years; largely driven by African emergency nurses, educators and the Emergency Nursing Society of South Africa. A Pan Africa Strategic Action Plan was created to operationalise the emergency nursing framework. This paper summarises dialogue between emergency nurses and outlines project targets.