27-year-old nurse who left Ghana two years ago wins national award in the UK

Ebenezer Akore Yeboah, a young Ghanaian medical professional who moved to the UK, two years ago, has been awarded by the UK government.

According to a report by the BBC, Akore Yeboah was recognized for his doctoral research work which focused on tackling the carbon footprint of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

The Ghanaian nurse, who works as an emergency department nurse at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire and is also a PhD researcher at Coventry University, looked into how to cut waste of single-use plastics, properly sorting waste and reducing power consumption.

His study found that about 4% of England's total carbon footprint was from the activities of the NHS.

The research explored how the work of nurses affected climate change and it involved 500 people in 56 countries.

This earned him commendation and involvement in an international conference from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

Akore Yeboah is reported to have said that the motivation for his research work was to find solutions to the contribution of nurses to climate change in the line of duty.

"When people are displaced by situations created by climate change, health professionals are the ones to look after them and when we are doing that we are adding to the carbon footprint," he is quoted to have said by the BBC.

Following his research findings, the nurse recommended sustainability training for nurses and greener purchasing by the UK health provider.

Akore Yeboah also expressed the joy of his achievement having moved to the UK just two years ago.

“It’s been a beautiful journey – the UK is a land of opportunity when I look at how much I’ve been able to achieve in just over two years.”

He added, "In Ghana, I read about the RCN in textbooks and now I’m part of it and have won a national award”.

BAI/NOQ

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