The Africa Children’s Nursing Observatory aims to make the work of children’s nursing educators in Africa visible. It is a collaborative initiative of the Africa Children’s Nursing Educators Forum (CNEF), led by The Harry Crossley Children’s Nursing Development Unit. 

As indicated by Sustainable Development Goal Target 3C – ‘to increase…. the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries’ – training is a critical element of the concept of ‘workforce’. Driven by this, educators in the CNEF have been sharing information about training programmes and student throughput since 2016. In 2020, this information moved to the Open Science Framework[1] and the Africa Children’s Nursing Workforce Observatory was established. 

It is the intention that data from the Observatory provides a comprehensive picture of the children’s nursing training activity in the region. By making this information freely accessible, this annual report aims to support educators, programme leaders, policymakers, regulators, professional bodies, and other stakeholders by providing evidence to inform decision-making, workforce planning, programme development, and investment in specialist children's nursing services.

Each year, the Unit coordinates the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data to develop accessible and practical resources. These have included the annual Children's Nursing Training Activity Summary Report, which presents key insights into student throughput (graduations) and training programme activity; a country-level dashboard providing current and historical information on children's nursing programmes across countries in the region; and the African Children's Nursing Educators Forum Directory supporting networking and connection amongst educators. 

Each year, the Unit leads the process of data gathering and analysing to generate the following three resources: 

In 2026 the Unit has produced the following resources.

The Africa Children’s Nursing Training Observatory 2026 Survey Report. This provides current and historical data about the programmes available in the region's countries, filterable by institution and year, and set alongside available child health indicators.

An African Children’s Nursing Educators Forum Directory. This presents information (contact details, programmes level and entry requirements, and 'active' status), to funders, employers and potential students, about training programmes, available in the region.

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A call to action: 
If your institution offers a specialist children's nursing programme and has not yet been involved in the Children's Nursing Training Observatory, please contact cndu@uct.ac.za to express your interest in future participation.
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