Posted on August 16, 2017
Source: Global Citizen
"'Nursing is often looked down upon and people just think you are there to be the maid of the doctor or do the dirty work,' says Chenai Mathabire. 'But teachers made me realize that nurses have a big role to play.'
And she did more than just play her role.
The 35-year-old from Zimbabwe won the 2017 International AIDS Society prize for her research in protecting the lives of HIV patients from tuberculosis.
After becoming the first nurse in her family, Mathabire began working for Doctors Without Borders in the care and diagnosis of HIV, tuberculosis (TB), pneumonia, and malaria patients throughout Zimbabwe. She also treated gunshot victims in South Sudan.
But her award-winning research would not begin until 2015 when Doctors Without Borders recruited her for a research assignment regarding rapid TB tests."
