Transforming Access and Care: Our Nurses, Our Future

On this International Nurses Day (May 12, 2026), under the theme “Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives,” I reflect not only on the profession that has shaped me, but also on the privilege and responsibility that comes with growing within it.

My journey as a nurse, midwife, and women’s health specialist has been guided by a persistent question: What more can be done to improve how we care, teach, and connect in ways that truly save lives and strengthen health systems?

Over time, I have learned that empowerment in nursing is not a complex concept. It is built through intentional action across education, service delivery, community engagement, leadership, research, and innovation.

At the foundation of my work is nursing and midwifery education. Through competency-based learning, strengthened assessment systems, and simulation-informed clinical training, nurses and midwives in resource-limited settings have acquired life-saving skills that directly contribute to improved clinical judgment, enhanced patient safety, and better maternal and newborn outcomes. I regard education not merely as preparation for practice, but as one of the most powerful and sustainable forms of health system strengthening.

Beyond health training institutions, I have worked to reshape how the profession is seen and heard in society. Through my initiative, “Your Nurse & Midwife on Air,” I created a community-based media platform to expand public understanding of nursing and midwifery.

This initiative has contributed to strengthened public trust, increased visibility of the profession, and positioned nurses and midwives as influential voices in health education, advocacy, promotion, and disease prevention. In many ways, it has helped shift perception from nurses as service providers alone to nurses as visible health leaders within communities.

In clinical practice, Best Medical Center reflects this philosophy translated into service delivery. I established it to ensure that access to care is not delayed, fragmented, or dehumanized, but timely, respectful, and centered on dignity. This has contributed to improved access to care and supported positive health-seeking behaviour within communities.

Complementing this is another innovation, the Nutrition and Wellness Hub, which reflects my commitment to prevention through community engagement and media. Through collaboration, consistent education, and practical guidance, there has been improved awareness and positive shifts in nutritional and dietary practices within communities.

This reinforces my belief that small, consistent preventive actions can create meaningful long-term health transformation at population level.

Alongside these initiatives, my engagement in research ensures that innovation remains grounded in evidence and responsive to real community needs. It allows me to contribute to solutions that are not only practical but also contextually relevant and sustainable.

What I continue to learn is that meaningful change is never achieved in isolation. It is built through collaboration with colleagues, policymakers, mentors, clients, and the communities we serve. Every step of this journey has been shaped by shared effort and shared purpose.

Today, I celebrate nurses and midwives across the world whose work continues to sustain health systems often under pressure yet full of possibility.

When nurses are empowered through education, visibility, access to quality care, prevention, and evidence-based practice, they do more than strengthen systems — they redefine them.

The future of health is not only dependent on technology or infrastructure, but on how effectively we invest in, trust, and elevate our nursing and midwifery workforce.

The writer is Lilian Nuwabaine Luyima, Episteme Award Recipient 2025, World’s Best Nurse Finalist 2024, Multi-Award-Winning Researcher 2023, Heroes in Health Award Winning Midwife 2021 and Outstanding Woman of 2021.