From Sweden to India, 10 nurses shortlisted for $250,000 global award

India's Hindumbi Kourom Kakkada and Sweden's Dr. Aidah Alkaissi are among 10 finalists from across the world who have been shortlisted for the $250,000 Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award.

Kakkada has delivered frontline healthcare for over 53 years in India's Lakshadweep, where limited infrastructure and access challenges shape care delivery, while Dr. Alkaissi has a career spanning nearly five decades across Sweden, Norway, and Palestine, in advanced nursing education, critical care practice, and research.

Dr. Agimol Pradeep (UK), Dinah Sevilla (Saudi Arabia), Dr. Hammoda Abu-Odah (China), Johana Patricia Galvan Barrios (Colombia), Josephine Nelago Angula (Namibia), Oluchi Angel Okoi (Nigeria), Peter Fore (Papua New Guinea) and Ronald Mario Cañas Rojas (Colombia) are the other finalists.

They were selected from over 134,000 registrations across 214 countries after an intense screening by Ernst & Young LLP and a special jury.

The final round will feature interviews with a distinguished Grand Jury comprising global healthcare leaders, with the winner announced at a gala event in India in July.  

Dr Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman, Aster DM Healthcare, highlighted that "the role of nurses extends far beyond bedside care", describing them as the "backbone of healthcare systems across the world".

"They are often the first to identify gaps in the system, drive innovation, and mentor the generation of healthcare professionals. This is what makes their contribution both indispensable and transformative."