Dem dey work for silence, di kain work wey nobody dey notice, and di wahala wey dem dey face no dey get di recognition wey e deserve.

For Africa, na nurses dey be di backbone of healthcare. Dem dey take care of people for places wey resources no dey, hospitals dey full, and dem dey make life-or-death decisions for conditions wey no easy at all.

New report from World Health Organisation (WHO) don show say di work wey African nurses dey do no match di reward dem dey get. African nurses dey work 43% more hours pass di global average, but dem dey manage with 62% less resources.

Even though about two million nurses don join di profession since 2018, Africa still dey suffer lack of nurses. Di continent get 17% of di world population but na only 3% of di world nurses dey here.

Di wahala no be small. For South Sudan, dem get only three nurses for every 10,000 people, wey no reach di global average at all. 76% of nurses for Africa dey report say dem dey work without di basic medicines wey dem need, and up to 58% dey reuse equipment wey suppose be single-use because of shortage.

Dis no just be numbers matter; na survival matter.

For one rural hospital for Kenya, nurse Sanaiyan Torome dey face dis reality every day. For one 17-hour shift, she help one mama wey dey carry twins wey get complicated pregnancy, deliver two babies, treat malaria cases, and stabilize one motorcycle accident victim.

Sanaiyan get only one other nurse to help her manage di night shift. Before di shift finish, another wahala come. "One woman wey get obstructed labour come for early morning. I know say di generator fit fail anytime," she tell TRT Afrika. "I gatz make hard decision. I go choose di oxygen machine or di light for di operating theatre? For dat moment, you go know say no nurse suppose dey make dat kain decision alone."

Di heartbeat of healthcare

Dis na di untold stories of African nurses wey dey do wonders for di middle of big challenges. "No be only say we no plenty, we no get di tools wey we need," nurse Mahamadou Cissé from Mali talk, as e show one blood pressure cuff wey dem tape di torn edge.

"Whether na patients dey share bed, we dey reuse gloves, or we dey choose who go get oxygen – dis no be di nursing wey dem teach me," Mahamadou talk.

Di State of di World’s Nursing report for 2025 show di irony say 23% of nurses for high-income countries na foreign-trained, and many of dem come from Africa.

"Every time another colleague dey leave go Europe, one part of me dey understand," Lagos-based nurse Chioma Okeke talk. "But when I look my paediatric ward, I dey wonder who go care for di children if all of us waka?"

International Nurses Day, wey dem dey celebrate every May 12, na tribute to di tired frontline healthcare warriors like Chioma.

For rural Malawi, community healthcare nurse James Kalonga dey waka 12 kilometres every day between villages. "My 'clinic' na any tree wey get shade," he talk, as he pat di medical bag wey get all di things wey he dey use. James don immunise over 1,200 children dis year alone.

Nursing old grievances

Ghana don try improve healthcare policy, like better salary, good working conditions, and career growth, to stop nurses from leaving. But still, 47% of Africa population no get di basic health services wey dem need, and di nursing sector need urgent help.

Globally, about 33% of nurses dey under 35 years, but for Africa, many dey face burnout because dem no plenty and support no dey. "I don see nurses break down after shift," midwife Zuena Mugisha from Uganda talk. "No time to rest, no counselling. We just dey push."

Only 42% of countries for di world dey provide mental health support for nurses, and dis na big problem, especially after di trauma wey di pandemic cause.

WHO Africa don launch campaign for dis International Nurses Day with three main goals: make dem recruit three times more nurses for places wey no get enough, set minimum safety standards for healthcare facilities, and make sure emergency supplies dey available so nurses go fit do their work well.

"Even though dis report get good news for nurses, we no fit ignore di inequality wey still dey for di global nursing sector," WHO director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, talk before dem launch di report. "I dey beg countries and partners to use dis report as guide, to show us where we dey come from, where we dey now, and where we suppose dey go – fast."

For thousands of nurses across Africa, dis challenges no be just numbers; na wetin dem dey face every day. For di rural Kenyan hospital where Sanaiyan dey work, as di first light of dawn show, she dey check di generator, dey hope say fuel go dey enough to power di operating room for di busy C-section wey dey ahead.

"We no just need more nurses; we need systems wey go value and support us to keep our patients healthy," she tell TRT Afrika. "Dem dey call us heroes. But heroes sef need help."