Peggy Vidot, Minister of Health of Seychelles, to speak at International Council of Nurses Congress

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) today announced the confirmation of Peggy Vidot, registered nurse and midwife and Minister of Health of Seychelles as a keynote speaker at the ICN Congress to be held virtually 2-4 November 2021.

Ms. Vidot is the chairperson of the National Aids Council in Seychelles and was a proponent of switching HIV treatment tasks from doctors to nurses and midwives to better combat the disease in Africa. In order to enable the switching, she initiated the African Health Profession Regulatory Collaborative (ARC) which works across 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to facilitate nurse- and midwife-led HIV care for pregnant women and children; improve the quality of nursing practice; and enhance national nursing policy and regulation.

In 2003, she was appointed as Health Advisor for the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, where she was responsible for developing and implementing projects and activities to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of Commonwealth member countries. Upon her return to Seychelles in 2012, she was appointed Special Advisor to the Minister for Health and served until 2016. In 2017, she was appointed Chair of the National AIDS Council of Seychelles and in 2019 she served as Chair of the Seychelles Women Trust Fund. She was appointed Minister of Health in November 2020.

Ms. Vidot holds a Master’s in Management of Health Services Management from Manchester University. She is also a State Registered Midwife from Luton and Dunstable School of Midwifery, Luton and State Registered Nurse from the Bath School of Nursing in the UK.

Ms. Vidot is a registered member of the Seychelles Nursing and Midwife Council, founding member of the Nurses Association of Seychelles, Founder Fellow of the East, Central and the Southern African College of Nursing and Honorary Fellow of Royal College of Nursing, United Kingdom.

Ms. Vidot joins other confirmed keynote speakers, Her Royal Highness Princess Muna al-Hussein, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, and United States Congress woman Lauren Underwood.

In partnership with the Emirates Nursing Association, the ICN 2021 Congress will bring together thousands of nurses from across the globe in a virtual event and will build on the vital contribution of nurses in the battle for health and well-being across the entire world. Using the theme ‘Nursing Around the World’, ICN will pass the nursing baton across the different regions in a series of live and interactive events that will give its members the opportunity to showcase their expertise and innovations throughout the world.

Early bird rates for registration to Congress are open until 9 June. Participants will receive full access to all official Congress sessions: full access to e-posters, partner and industry symposia; full access to online chat and other virtual networking areas; automatic allocation of continuing education credits (ICNECs) and full access to sessions after the event for a period of six months. To register before the 9 June Early Bird deadline, go to: https://icncongress2021.org/registration/

Further information and regular updates on the Congress programme are available on the Congress website: www.icncongress2021.org

Download the press release here