May 12, 2011 -- President James Michel has thanked all nurses and midwives for the positive impact they make on our daily wives.

In his message on the occasion of Nurses Day today, the President said: "Through the passion for what they do and their innovative approaches, nurses and midwives in Seychelles have demonstrated their ability to find practical solutions to the challenges of improving the health of patients and providing support to communities.

He continued: "I would like to thank all nurses  and midwives for the positive impact that they make in our lives on a daily basis as well as their hard work and dedication in Winning for Seychelles.

"In line with the international theme for Nurses Day this year, "Closing the gap: Increasing access and equity," we can consider our pursuit of equity of access to health care as one of our greatest victories.

"We live in a globalized world where there is growing awareness of the vast gap in the level of inequitable rates amongst child mortality, malnutrition and life expectancy in different nations. These health outcomes are based on the level of access that people have to the determinants of good health e.g. adequate income, nutrition, education, sanitation, safe drinking water and security (proximity to war zones) and comprehensive health care throughout the country.

"In Seychelles, we have ensured that right to health and the right for an equal opportunity for health are enshrined in our Constitution. The Seychelles was one of the 134 countries which endorsed the concept of Primary health Care in 1979.

"Our health policy is committed to exercise the political will to mobilize and utilize all available resources  so that health policies and health programmes ensure that all Seychellois enjoy universal and equitable access to high quality health care.

"This is a victory for Seychelles, as we continue to enjoy free health care and one of the best standards of primary health care in the region. We will continue to reform our health services so that advanced medical treatment can be offered in our country, and in this way to cut down on the costs involved in sending patients for treatment abroad.

"New health facilities such as the Anse Royale Hospital, the Beau Vallon Health Clinic and the Sheikh Khalifa Diagnostic Centre have been built and others have been either renovated or expanded to meet the needs of our people. We have dedicated teams of health professionals delivering the primary health care services to our population, and now we have enhanced capacities for diagnosis of medical conditions.

"Together we have improved the health of our nation. Together we have made a difference and for the most part it has been through the dedicated efforts and hard work of our nurses.

"The Seychellois nation, my family and I join together in wishing our nurses a Happy Nurse day. We pray for their happiness and continued success for the dedicated care they continue to give to their patients.

"May God bless you all!"