The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO) and Jhpiego, hosted a three-day National Consultation and Experience Sharing Workshop in November 2025 to advance reforms in India’s nursing and midwifery sector. The event aimed to strengthen governance, education, leadership, and workforce management in alignment with national health priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The workshop brought together policymakers, senior officials, regulators, nursing educators, professional associations, and development partners to review ongoing initiatives, address emerging challenges, and exchange state-level innovations shaping the nursing ecosystem. Participants deliberated on equitable workforce distribution, quality assurance in education and training institutions, leadership development, and enhanced career progression pathways.
The inaugural session was attended by Dr Vinod K. Paul, member (health), NITI Aayog; Ms Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary, Health, MoHFW; Ms Payden Acting WHO Representative to India; Dr Vinod Kotwal, Additional Secretary, Medical Education, MoHFW; Mr Prashant Pise, Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs.
Ms Srivastava emphasized that nurses and midwives are “the backbone of India’s healthcare system” and highlighted recent milestones such as the creation of the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission and modernization of regulatory structures, urging states to share best practices for national replication. Dr Paul underscored nursing as a core pillar of the health system and called for stronger reforms in training quality and in-service education to ensure professional excellence.
Ms Payden said India is among the world’s largest contributors to the global nursing workforce and has significantly influenced and improved shortage projections for the WHO South-East Asia Region. Day one highlighted policy directions from WHO’s State of the World’s Nursing Report 2025, and focused on group work around four domains central to India’s future priorities: education, employment, leadership, and service delivery.
The workshop showcased innovations in digital learning, workforce planning, and nursing education, and promoting evidence-based policymaking and cross-state learning to build a resilient and empowered nursing workforce.