Establishing a national programme for continuing professional development of nurses and midwives in Swaziland

Introduction Although required under the National Health Policy of the country, Swaziland lacked a comprehensive framework to support a CPD programme for the nursing and midwifery workforce. Aims and Methods Through consecutive grants from the African Health Professions Regulatory Collaborative, nursing and midwifery leaders in Swaziland were able to develop and implement a national programme for CPD. Methods included a comprehensive needs assessment, stakeholder sensitisation meetings to gain input and feedback on programme planning and development, and creation of a database for tracking compliance with CPD requirements. Discussion The project has succeeded in aligning nursing and midwifery practice requirements with national health policy through development and implementation of a national CPD programme in Swaziland. Budget constraints and limited time for project completion were challenges successfully mitigated by broad stakeholder engagement. Conclusions Through collaborative efforts, nursing leadership in Swaziland successfully pooled resources to develop a national CPD programme that best suits their workforce needs.