By Maxwell Awumah
Ho, Dec 9, GNA-The University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) and partners have graduated the first cohort of 30 participants in the Oncology Nurse Leadership Programme (ONLET) in Africa.
The participants comprising, 19 women and 11 men, were from The Gambia, South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, Nigeria, and Ghana.
The six-month hybrid postgraduate certificate programme offered training in Oncology nurse leadership development, health services organization, financial management and quality assurance, psycho-oncology, stress and change management, networking and collaboration, research and evidence-based practice and policy and nurture advocacy to impact on cancer care delivery and patient outcomes.
The programme co-developed by the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (ISNCC), City Cancer Challenge (C/Can), Faciliso (Australia), and Julia Downing (UK), and AMGEN, a global biotech company and founding sponsor of the programme, a first of a kind in Africa, seeks to address the gap of inadequate investment in healthcare professionals delivering cancer care.
There were face-to-face and online sessions involving lectures, group discussions, student-led presentations and role plays leading to the award of certificates.
Professor Lydia Aziato, Vice-Chancellor of UHAS, emphasized the ONLEP programme aimed to build leadership capacity among oncology nurses across the continent with the programme expected over the next five years to train at least 240 oncology nurses with demonstrated leadership potentials in Africa.
“Participants are expected to replicate or showcase the leadership and clinical skills acquired to leverage quality outcomes and positive impact,” she noted at a farewell dinner for participants, where certificates were given.
The Vice Chancellor thanked the major actors, facilitators, sponsors, announcing that 60 participants were earmarked for the 2026 uptake and urged them to reposition for the task ahead.
Professor Lydia Aziato, also a Project Lead, said, “UHAS is poised to lead this partnership and aims to be the hub for leadership training for nurses and midwives and other health professionals in Africa and beyond.”
Prof Julia Downing, Board Member and Prof Winnie So, President of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care, who were facilitators, said the ONLET had come at the most opportune time to implement solutions that directly impacted cancer prevention, treatment, survivorship and palliative care outcomes across diverse settings.
They said acquiring the basic skills was a challenge to excel and activate that urgent difference.
Prof Downing said, “Stay focused, make mistakes but know that that is a stage. Continue doing your best and contribute to cancer care, generally.”
Deans of the various schools offered their exhortations, urging the graduands to stay within the ethics and laws of operations, mainstream screening for early detection of cancers and be selfless at their profession.
Some participants described the session as deeply impactful and timely, especially in their journey toward becoming transformative leaders in cancer care across Africa.
Ejiaku Tochukwu Chiamaka, Cohort 1 Lead, Abuja, Nigeria said, “This programme is more than just a learning experience, it’s a bridge connecting nurses from diverse backgrounds and countries, empowering us to share our stories and learn from each other.”
In order to maintain and increase quality cancer care in Africa, training programmes in oncology nursing and leadership to advance the capacity of local healthcare professionals as well as strengthen leadership mindsets, is a necessary investment for the future.
GNA
Edited by Christian Akorlie