logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2021
8m 59s

A Ghanaian nurse's story

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Nurses from outside the UK form a vital part of the country's National Health Service. Many come from African countries. Cecilia Anim - who left Ghana for England in 1972 - became the first black woman to be made president of the Royal College of Nursing. In 2017 she was awarded a CBE by the Queen. She has been speaking to Sharon Hemans for Witness History.

Photo: Cecilia Anim as a student nurse in Ghana in the 1960s. Credit: Cecilia Anim.

Up next
Apr 2025
The Cu Chi tunnels of the Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese VietCong guerrillas built a vast network of tunnels in the south of the country as part of the insurgency against the South Vietnamese government and their American allies. The tunnel network was a key base and shelter for the North Vietna ... Show More
9m 43s
Today
The Howard Hughes literary hoax
<p>In 1971, the publishing world was rocked by one of the biggest hoaxes in literary history – a fake autobiography of the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.</p><p>Hughes was an aerospace engineer, film producer, record-breaking aviator and business tycoon, who’d built a $2 bil ... Show More
10m 4s
Yesterday
Colombia's Salt Cathedral
<p>In 1995, a cathedral was built 180m underground in the Zipaquirá Salt Mine in Colombia. </p><p>The idea came from the miners building makeshift altars in the mine in the 1930s, to pray for their safety before starting their shifts. </p><p>It’s now a major tourist attraction, a ... Show More
10m 35s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
Artist Althea McNish and history of the Met Gala
<p>Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about Althea McNish, the Trinidadian artist who designed fabric for Queen Elizabeth II. </p><p>Former Vogue editor Suzy Menkes on the success of the fashion celebratio ... Show More
52m 16s
Aug 2020
Margaret Ekpo - Nigeria's feminist pioneer
<p>Margaret Ekpo helped establish Nigerian independence and became one of the country's first female MPs. We hear from her grandson and speak to a Nigerian feminist about why Nigeria has so few women in government today. Plus the US Supreme Court decision that threatens the votin ... Show More
50m 22s
Sep 2022
Queen Elizabeth II and broadcasting
<p>We look at some of the broadcasts delivered by Queen Elizabeth II including her first radio address to the children of the Commonwealth on 13 October 1940. Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond looks back on the Queen's significant moments in front of a microphone. </p><p ... Show More
51m 26s
Jun 2022
Egypt's first democratic Presidential election
<p>In June 2012, Egypt held its first ever free democratic Presidential election. Mohamed Morsi, representing the Muslim Brotherhood, emerged victorious. Ben Henderson spoke to Rabab El-Mahdi, Chief Strategist to one of Morsi’s rival candidates. She described what it was like to ... Show More
51m 20s
Nov 2023
Che Guevara's daughter and marrying Freddie Mercury
<p>Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Tony Kapcia, Emeritus Professor at the University of Nottingham's Centre for Research on Cuba. He tells us about the history of Cuban foreign policy.</p><p>We sta ... Show More
51m 25s
May 2020
Florence Nightingale
Join Greg Jenner for a fun homeschool history lesson on the woman who changed the face of healthcare forever, Florence Nightingale. Learn about how she forged her own path to become a nurse, the obstacles she had to overcome to care for troops overseas and how she continued to fi ... Show More
14m 25s
Nov 2020
The world's first woman premier
<p>Sirimavo Bandaranaike was elected prime minster of Sri Lanka, or Ceylon as it was known then, in 1960 following the assassination of her husband, Solomon Bandaranaike and became the first female prime minister in the world. We hear from Dr Asanga Welikala about her legacy. Plu ... Show More
50m 28s
Jul 2019
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, "This Is Really War: The Incredible True Story of a Navy Nurse POW in the Occupied Philippines" (Chicago Review Press, 2019)
In her new book, This Is Really War: The Incredible True Story of a Navy Nurse POW in the Occupied Philippines (Chicago Review Press, 2019), Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi presents the largely unknown story of the US Navy nurses captured by the Japanese in the Philippines during World W ... Show More
1h 5m
Jun 2023
What conditions are African nurses facing abroad?
In March this year, the W-H-O identified 55 countries as facing the “most pressing health workforce challenges”. Basically, nations where there are less than 49 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 people – the global average. Forty-one of them are in Africa. In response, some ... Show More
22m 25s