Roles and responsibilities of government chief nursing and midwifery officers: a capacity-building manual

Overview

Current World Health Organization statistics reflect an improvement in a number of international health-related goals. According to WHO (2014a), there are still a great number of health issues and challenges facing many countries. Dedicated efforts are needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to ensure Universal Healthcare (UHC) to provide all people with access to quality health services. It is recognized that in order to achieve UHC, countries should build efficient health systems that meet population health needs and ensure that citizens receive the needed care without financial hardship. One important requirement for such systems is the availability of a trained and motivated health workforce including nurses and midwives (WHO 2014a). The State of the World’s Midwifery 2014 report (UNFPA et al, 2014) shows that much effort is being made in the 73 countries studied. For example, 33 of the 73 (45%) countries studied report vigorous attempts to improve health workforce retention in remote areas since 2011. Twenty countries (28%) have started to increase recruitment and deployment of midwives, 13 countries (18%) have prepared plans to establish regulatory bodies, and 14 (20%) have a new code of practice or regulatory framework. Most of these countries, (71%), have made substantive improvements in workforce data, information and accountability (UNFPA et al, 2014). Although much progress has been made, there is still much more to be done.