Today is International Nurses Day, a global celebration of nurses and the critical role they play in keeping the world healthy. WHO commemorates the day just a week after the 5 May celebration of the International Day of the Midwife, which this year focused on mobilizing increased investments in the midwifery workforce. Amid a global pandemic that has in recent months accelerated, the WHO South-East Asia Region continues to pull out all stops to ensure that health and care workers can get the job done safely, with full protection of their physical and mental health. In this International Year of Health and Care Workers, WHO will continue to support all countries in the Region to advance health workforce strengthening as a core component of the quest to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), one of the Region’s eight Flagship Priorities and the target that underpins Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.
The Region is well into the second half of its Decade for Health Workforce Strengthening, which aims to ensure all countries overcome shortages and skill-gaps in and among health cadre. Since 2015 the Region has increased the availability of doctors, nurses and midwives by one fifth. Almost all countries have met and surpassed the original WHO threshold of 22.8 health workers per 10 000 population. In pursuit of the Region’s Flagship Priority on accelerating reductions in maternal, neonatal and under-five mortality, all Member States have implemented national action plans to strengthen the nursing and midwifery workforce. Most countries have introduced specialized and updated midwifery programmes, and several have already achieved the 2030 SDG target on reducing neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1000 live births.
The WHO-co-developed State of the World’s Nursing report 2020 and the new State of the World’s Midwifery report 2021 highlight the need for accelerated action in the Region and globally. Unless countries and partners mobilize additional investments in health workforce strengthening, by 2030 there will be a global shortage of around 5.9 million nurses. The world currently faces a shortage of around 900 000 midwives, which represents a third of the required global midwifery workforce. With a density of 16.5 nurses per 10 000 population in 2018, the Region is below the average global density of 36.9 nurses. Although women account for 70% of the global health workforce, they hold just 25% of senior roles. It is time to acknowledge that female participation in leadership is vital to achieve the fairer and healthier Region and world to which we are committed.
On International Nurses Day, policy-makers and facility administrators can take immediate action to celebrate, support and strengthen the nursing and midwifery workforce, in line with the theme of WHO’s International Year of Health and Care Workers – “Protect. Invest. Together”. First, amid the COVID-19 response, health and care workers must be provided adequate access to personal protective equipment as well as first access to COVID-19 vaccines, which all Member States have stipulated in national deployment and vaccination plans. Regulations on working hours and minimum wages must be respected and every effort must be made to protect health and care workers from stigma and violence. Between 8% and 38% of health and care workers globally suffer work-related violence at some point in their career, and many more experience verbal aggression and social stigma.
Second, to accelerate a health and economic recovery that is more equitable and resilient, countries must sustain and scale up investments in health workforce strengthening, especially on nurses and midwives. Amid the intense fiscal pressures imposed by the pandemic, additional nurses and midwives must be recruited and trained, and existing staff should be provided professional development opportunities. Investments from international financing institutions, bilateral and philanthropic partners must continue to be mobilized to strengthen the response and advance the 2030 Agenda. Third, all stakeholders must continue to advocate for and highlight the critical role nurses and midwives play in protecting health and keeping people safe. Nurses and midwives are central to the delivery of quality primary health care for all. They are the backbone of health system resilience and must be accorded the highest respect.
The Region must sustain and accelerate momentum. Throughout the COVID-19 response, WHO will continue to support all countries in the Region to protect, motivate and equip health and care workers and to honour the courage and commitment they have shown. The pandemic has highlighted the critical value to all countries of investing in and building a robust health workforce that can be repurposed and redeployed to ensure every community can access the full range of health services they require, even in emergencies. By increasing the number and skills of nurses and midwives, and by continuing to implement the Region’s Decade for Health Workforce Strengthening, countries will not only accelerate progress towards UHC, but also strengthen emergency preparedness and health security. On International Nurses Day, we must all raise our voice: Invest today for a healthier tomorrow.