The final Children’s Nursing Educator’s Forum (CNEF) for 2025 was held on 29 October, marking the end of a year filled with significant achievements. Educators reflected on their personal highlights, noting several “firsts” for individual educators: the first review of the paediatric nursing curriculum, the launch of the inaugural MSc in Pediatric Nursing, the first Essentials of Burn Care Course, and the publication of a first primary-author research paper.
We were privileged to have as our guest speaker Prof Champion N Nyoni, Technical Officer for Health Workforce Education & Training within the Health Systems & Services Cluster of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Prof Nyoni addressed the topic of “Competency-Based Curriculum Design for Locally Appropriate & Practice-Ready Graduates”, an approach WHO has applied in developing ten new curricula tailored for African health systems (for CNDU's recent involvement in this click here). 

He highlighted concerns about health education curriculum, both in the way that content is taught & assessed. He referenced WHO’s Global Competency & Outcomes Framework for Universal Health Coverage, published in 2022. This framework aims to build a resilient, competent health workforce essential for achieving health-related Sustainable Development Goals.

Prof Nyoni emphasized how competency-based education (CBE) prioritizes outcomes aligned with population health needs rather than the expertise or biased focus of the educator. This learner-centred model promotes accountability, flexibility, and ensures competency in relevant areas as opposed to learning about conditions that one never then sees in practice. It also uses backward design - a method adopted by the Children’s Nursing Development Unit for the past five years.

The forum concluded with anticipation for WHO’s upcoming launch of its newly developed curricula, scheduled for later in November.