Nurse Volunteering Abroad in Africa│Asia
Nurse volunteering abroad that supports your practice
In order to avoid repeating web page content, the links on this page for nurse volunteering abroad link to the relevant country and the nursing elective on the ‘Nursing Electives’ page.
The main difference between the electives and the nurse volunteering placements is that nurses licenced in their own countries will be licenced to practice without sitting local exams for up to 12, 24, and 8, weeks respectively for Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. In Uganda, and Ghana, your licence will be given before arrival, whereas in Kenya you will need to apply in person (a process that takes up to 5 working days), which we would clear prior to your arrival.
Nepal is a new destination for us, and I am awaiting further details (and photos) regarding licencing.
Country information (food, accommodation, visas, inoculations) is on the relevant page under our ‘Countries’ navigation header.
Payments for qualified nurses may be less than for elective students, but each of our placements is paid for (food. accommodation, placement fee, management, insurances, 24/7 in-country support).
For additional information, please scroll below the link pictures
Mutual Empowerment of Local & Nurse Volunteers in Africa
Our nurse volunteering abroad placements can be up to 3 months in Ghana, 8 weeks in Uganda, and 6 months in Kenya.
Nursing can be a demanding career, all the more so in low-income low resource countries where demands on nurses are often greater than the support they can draw upon. As a result, your presence offers vital support and encouragement to the local healthcare professionals you’ll work with.
The global shortage of healthcare workers disproportionately impacts the Africa and SE Asia regions, which is where we offer nurse volunteering placements. The WHO estimates that sub-Saharan Africa, has 11% of the world's population, with 24% of the global disease burden, yet has only 3% of the global health workforce, spending less than 1% of the world's financial resources on health
Nurse training itself in Africa is focused largely on the technical delivery of clinical care, and as our partners there explain, traditional ideas of health, ‘luck’, ‘magic’, and causes of illness, and cures can compete with modern practice and knowledge. The local nurses and project leaders you work with understand this, and play a pivotal role in disease prevention and public health awareness, alongside the provision of primary and community care.
Conditions do vary across the region, but overall, rural areas are in more need of healthcare professionals than urban areas, where most professionals globally, work for the better opportunities afforded. In urban areas in Africa, a majority reside in informal settlements, and as the delivery of services and facilities does depend on formal systems and structure, their inhabitants often have even poorer health than people in rural areas, where 60% of the populations live.
Give A Fig Volunteering’s nurse volunteers are placed in urban locations. In Ghana in a main hospital in west Accra, and a teaching hospital in Mbarara, Uganda. There is a wide choice of settings and locations in Kenya, which we narrow down on knowing your prefernces.
Our nurse volunteers will be locally licenced by the hospital boards, organised by our medical partners in Ghana and Uganda. In Kenya, this process is managed centrally by the national health ministry. You will benefit greatly from the insights gained from working in these settings, which will enable a transfer of skills between local and volunteer nurses.
As western countries become increasingly diverse in their populations, this wider understanding of health provision and views of health, wellbeing, cause and treatment can help develop a more holistic approach and empathy when supporting patients from the areas in western cities. We are able to arrange seminars with local universities, who will be able to discuss with you in more detail about health, health care, and attitudes to sickness in their countries.
The presence of nurse volunteers in Africa is greatly appreciated, respected, and supported, and you’ll be warmly received.