April 7, 2020 is the day to celebrate the work of nurses and midwives and remind world leaders of the critical role they play in keeping the world healthy. Nurses and other health workers are at the forefront of COVID-19 response - providing high quality, respectful treatment and care, leading community dialogue to address fears and questions and, in some instances, collecting data for clinical studies. Quite simply, without nurses, there would be no COVID-19 response. Hence the tagline for World Health Day is: Support nurses and midwives.
COVID-19 highlights how important it is for all nurses to have access to the most up-to-date knowledge and guidance required to respond to such outbreaks. It also underscores the critical (and often unmet need) for protective equipment so they can safely provide care and reduce the rate of infection in health settings.
“We can’t stop COVID-19 without protecting our health workers,” said the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanon Ghebreyesus, at a recent press conference in Geneva, adding that the continuing shortages of supplies such as gloves, medical masks, respirators, and aprons, are leaving doctors, nurses and other frontline healthcare workers “dangerously ill-equipped” to give proper care to patients.
Every day, health care workers risk their lives to provide care in their communities — from rural health clinics, mobile medical tents in refugee camps to major city hospitals. During the Ebola outbreak six years ago, WHO estimated that health care workers were between 21 and 32 times more likely to be infected with the disease than people in the general adult population. In West Africa, more than 350 health care workers died while battling Ebola.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated the year 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife” in order to honour the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. The year 2020 is an important year in terms of strengthening its Universal Health Coverage strategy.
This World Health Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is calling everyone to respect, appreciate and support the courageous and committed medical community. It continues to stress the need for more investment in the health care workforce and systems, and the importance of following public health advice.
This year, the WHO also highlights the current status of nursing around the world. The organisation and its partners aim to make a serious of recommendation in order to strengthen the workforce of nurses and midwives, as per the WHO website.
This is important for achieving global targets related to universal health coverage, maternal and child health, patients’ safety, mental health, infectious and non-communicable diseases, delivery of people-centred care amongst others.
Strong nursing and midwifery workforces are required to ensure that everyone, everywhere gets the healthcare they need.
Also, this World Health Day, WHO will launch State of the World’s Nursing Report 2020, the first of its kind. This report will provide a global picture of nursing workforce and will also support evidence-based planning to optimise their contributions for improving health and well-being for all. A similar report of midwifery workforce will be launched in 2021.
Both these reports will set agenda for data collection, investment, research and advocacy and policy dialogue in health workforce for generations to come.
Nurses, midwives and all health workers are on the COVID-19 frontline. Take a moment to thank them and show them your appreciation. Share photos and videos of and from nurses and midwives, or other health workers, and patients explaining why their work is vital. Use #SupportNurses
Nurses and midwives account for nearly 50% of the global health workforce.
There is a global shortage of health workers, in particular nurses and midwives, who represent more than 50% of the current shortage in health workers.
The largest needs-based shortages of nurses and midwives are in South East Asia and Africa.
For all countries to reach Sustainable Development Goal 3 on health and well-being, WHO estimates that the world will need an additional 9 million nurses and midwives by the year 2030.
Achieving health for all will depend on there being sufficient numbers of well-trained and educated, regulated and well supported nurses and midwives, who receive pay and recognition commensurate with the services and quality of care that they provide.
Investing in nurses and midwives is good value for money. The report of the UN High Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth concluded that investments in education and job creation in the health and social sectors result in a triple return of improved health outcomes, global health security, and inclusive economic growth.
Globally, 70% of the health and social workforce are women compared to 41% in all employment sectors. Nursing and midwifery occupations represent a significant share of the female workforce.
Investing more in midwives, who are critical for maternal and newborn health as well as for family planning, could avert over 80% of all the maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths that occur today
Nurses and midwives 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. They are also part of their local community – sharing its culture, strengths and vulnerabilities – and can shape and deliver effective interventions to meet the needs of
Five key investment areas:
1. Accelerate investments in nursing and midwifery education
2. Employ more specialist nurses
3. Invest in the leadership skills of nurses and midwives.
4. Make midwives and nurses the heart of primary health care
5. Support nurses and midwives in delivering health promotion and disease prevention.
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