My award is a tribute to all nurses, says Ghanaian nurse who won Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award
A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)Naomi Oyoe Ohene Oti, the Ghanaian nurse who recently won the Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award 2025, said the honour she received in Dubai was not just a personal milestone, but a tribute to the unseen heroes of healthcare systems in Ghana, across Africa, and the wider world.In an interview with Aletihad, Naomi said: 'I am deeply emotional and really humbled to receive the award from the hands of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE's Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence.'A specialist in oncology nursing, Naomi heads the National Radiotherapy Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Centre at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. She has been instrumental in transforming patient care and spearheading specialist nurse training across Ghana. Notably, she helped launch the country's postgraduate oncology nursing curriculum in 2015, which has since produced over 60 oncology nurse specialists and 10 breast care nurses.Her influence extends across Africa. Naomi serves on the education and training committee of the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), co-leads initiatives with the ISNCC, and is a co-investigator on the Global Bridges Oncology GM Grant. As a global faculty member of ASCO's Multidisciplinary Cancer Management Courses, she represents African nursing voices in international forums and has mentored more than 48 nurses from across the continent. Her work has earned her several honours, including Ghana's Ministry of Health Excellence Award and the Dr Dorcia Kisseh International Award.Chosen from over 100,000 applicants from 199 countries, Naomi was honoured with a $250,000 cash prize as part of the Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award, which was launched by Aster DM Healthcare in 2021 to recognise outstanding contributions by nurses in fields such as leadership, innovation, research, and community service.Reflecting on her field, Naomi said cancer care demands a more comprehensive and empathetic approach than general nursing. 'You have got to be more knowledgeable. You should know physical, psychological and emotional needs of the patient. As you get to know more of the biology of the disease, you become dexterous in caring for the patients,' she said.Naomi, who has seen many a patient in her long cancer care career, is known to be a champion of equity in cancer care. What does equity in cancer care mean? She says it means accessibility and affordability. 'Any person who has cancer should be able to have access to the required treatment and be able to afford them,' she said, adding equity also means health workers should be equipped with the right skills needed to care for them.During the COVID-19 pandemic, Naomi led the development of a telemedicine initiative to reduce hospital visits and protect vulnerable patients. 'Only when cancer patients had to do chemo were they asked to head to the labs straight without having to go through the regular physical assessment from nurses and doctors,' she said. Symptom management was handled remotely via phone and WhatsApp. Though a few nurses succumbed to the virus, she said the government offered critical support and ensured the supply of protective gear.Naomi also expressed interest in exploring the UAE's healthcare system firsthand. 'From everything I have read and heard, hospitals here are equipped with state-of-the-art technology,' she said.When asked about her plans for Ghana, the award-winning nurse said that not only Ghana but Africa should stand tall when it comes to the competencies of nurses. 'We have plans for harmonising standards for nursing training in Africa. We want African nurses to be on par with their Western counterparts. They should be equipped with the same skill sets so they can give the same type of care.'
'Nurses, who constitute the majority of the workforce, should have a seat at the decision-making table,' she said. 'They should be part of the leadership teams in the healthcare sector so they can give their inputs for policymaking.'
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