On the occasion of the International Day of the Nurse, the World Health Organization (WHO) joins hundreds of partners worldwide to highlight the importance of nurses in the healthcare continuum and celebrate this vital workforce. The theme for this year is Nurses A Voice to Lead – Health for all.
Nurses are the lynchpin of health teams, playing a crucial role in health promotion, disease prevention, treatment and care. They are often the first and sometimes the only health professional that people see and the quality of their initial assessment, care and treatment is vital. Nurses and midwives represent nearly one-half of the total number of health workers around the world. However, for all countries to reach Sustainable Development Goal 3, WHO estimates that the world will need an additional 9 million nurses and midwives by 2030. These additional jobs represent a global opportunity for investment in health workers. The job benefits will be particularly beneficial for women and young people as demonstrated by the report of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth. Strengthening nursing will have the additional benefits of promoting gender equity (SDG5), contributing to economic development (SDG8) and supporting other Sustainable Development Goals. WHO Director-General has made specific commitments to supporting the role of nurses and midwives in achieving the WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work (GPW13). As part of that commitment, WHO is supporting the Nursing Now campaign with the International Council of Nurses and the Burdett Trust with the aim of improving health globally by raising the status of nursing and enabling nurses to maximize their contribution to achieving universal health coverage (UHC). WHO is also preparing the first-ever State of the World’s Nursing Report, which will be presented to the 73rd World Health Assembly in 2020. The report will describe the nursing workforce in WHO Member States, providing an assessment of “fitness for purpose” relative to GPW13 targets.
The Executive Board, designated the year 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse and the midwife”, in honor of the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. This proposal will be presented to Member States of the 72nd World Health Assembly for consideration and endorsement.