And Kenyan is the world's best nurse.
Anna Duba, employed at Marsabit County Hospital, prevailed over more than 24,000 participants in the Global Nursing Award competition from 180 countries around the world. The award ceremony took place in Dubai on International Nurses Day, where she presented herself in traditional Samburu dress. Sponsor of the initiative, the first of its kind, the Indian company Aster DM Healthcare.
Along with Anna Duba an award was also given to her colleague at Marsabit Hospital Jirma Bulle, also a Kenyan.
Anna's career is truly special and commendable: the first high school graduate in her village and the only literate woman, she became a nurse and ultilized her profession to promote gender equality and education within the communities of her region. She established a foundation, the Qabale Duba Foundation, with which she helped build a school in her village where children studied in the morning and adults in the afternoon.
At the same time, she held classes to change women's health perceptions and culture toward sexual rights, safe deliveries and prenatal care.
Her educational initiatives helped reduce female genital mutilation and early marriage. Now more women are giving birth in hospitals and more mothers are enrolling their daughters in school. Anna Duba received the Waislitz Global Citizen's Choice award, which included a cash prize of $50,000.
Jirma Bulle has worked alongside her, and has been in the health sector, for as many as 21 years. She was one of the volunteers who helped tackle the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone.
She is leading the "Beyond Zero" campaign launched by Kenyan First Lady Margaret Kenyatta aimed at improving maternal health. She has faced several challenges, such as access to remote villages, but still managed to increase immunization of children under five.
Two women on the front lines and out of the spotlight, who deserve this recognition and should be on the front page instead of the many politicians crowding the media these days.