Filipino Nurse in Saudi Arabia Shortlisted for Prestigious Global Nursing Award
Dinah Sevilla, a head nurse at King Saud University Medical City in Riyadh, has been named one of the top ten finalists for the prestigious Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award 2026. Selected from a pool of over 134,000 applicants across 214 countries, Sevilla is competing for a grand prize of approximately Dh900,000. Her nomination stems from her innovative approach to patient care, which involves using pictorial guides, instructional videos, and personalized training to help kidney patients safely manage peritoneal dialysis at home.
The impact of her work has been profound, significantly reducing the risk of peritonitis—a common and dangerous infection associated with home-based dialysis—to just 0.07 percent, far surpassing the global benchmark of 0.40 percent. Inspired to enter the nursing profession after her younger brother was born with Down syndrome, Sevilla moved to Saudi Arabia in 2011 and has since become a leader in her field. Beyond her technical innovations, she maintains a 24-hour monitoring system to support her patients, driven by a deep commitment to ensuring that those suffering from chronic illnesses feel empowered and retain a sense of dignity. If she wins the award in India this coming July, she intends to use the funds to make kidney treatment more accessible and affordable for the underprivileged.