Family Nurse Practice Eswatini

The University of Eswatini is the home to the first program for family nurse practitioners (FNP) in the country. Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) is a small land-locked nation in Southern Africa with a population of approximately 1.2 million. Eswatini has the highest HIV infection rate in the world. There is no medical school and recruiting adequate numbers of doctors is  a challenge.  This program enhances the skills of nurses who provide care in areas where there is no doctor. There are currently 22 students in the FNP program with another class entering this August. The first goal of this campaign is to raise sufficient funds to purchase tablets for the students. We will load these devices with medical guidelines, class notes, and other resources. They will be gifted to the students so they can carry reference material into the clinical setting and continue to use them after graduation. Examples of resources are the 2018 Swaziland Integrated HIV Guidelines; the Standard Treatment Guidelines and Essential Medication List; and the WHO Integrated Management of Childhood Illness. The $5000 will fund the tablets and a hard drive to store materials for the current students, the students entering August 2019 (anticipated 9-12) and a few faculty members. All materials loaded on the tablets will be acquired free of charge. Future goals include purchasing a white medical jacket for and a stethoscope for each student; offering scholarships; and purchasing educational materials for the classroom.