Pakistani nurse wins laurels

Anila Ali Bardai stands as Pakistan’s first nurse to have received the award for excellence in neonatal nursing.

KARACHI: Pakistani nurse Anila Ali Bardai has made history.

Today, she stands as Pakistan’s first nurse to have received the award for excellence in neonatal nursing, presented to her on Friday at the 8th International Conference of Nurses, held at the Waterfront Hotel in Belfast, Ireland.

With over three million newborn deaths globally, Pakistan has the third highest number, making this nursing concentration especially pertinent.

Saving new lives

Bardai shared the honour with Christine Sammy from Kenya, while Malawi’s Netasyi Gowero was the runner up.

While nurses provide the majority of care to sick newborn children in health facilities, there are very few like these winners who dedicate themselves fully to newborn care.

“Christine, Anila and Netsayi were selected over a number of outstanding candidates for their unwavering leadership and passion for ensuring every newborn has a chance to survive and thrive,” said Council of International Neonatal Nurses (COINN) President Karen New, according to a statement issued by the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), where Bardai works.

“All three women work in newborn care units in busy referral hospitals providing care to underserved populations. We can take good care for granted in rich countries but, in these settings, it has to be developed and defended by committed professionals.”

Bardai is the Head Nurse of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the AKUH and has been striving to reduce the newborn deaths. She also provides counseling to those parents who have lost their babies, and support for mothers of sick children.

The award for nurses, organised by Save the Children and COINN, was established in 2009. The previous winners hailed from Ghana and India.


Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2013.