International Nurses Day 2022: Nurses: Respect, support and appreciate them

12 May 2022 Every year on 12 May, the world marks International Nurses Day in recognition of the tireless and invaluable contribution of nurses to health care and global health security. Nurses and midwives make up more than half of the health workforce in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region. However, the Eastern Mediterranean Region accounts for 17% of the global shortage of 5.9 million nurses according to the report “State of the world's nursing 2020: investing in education, jobs and leadership”. The Region has the second lowest density of nurses among WHO regions, at 15.6 nurses per 10 000 population, ranging from less than 1 to 81 per 10 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of ensuring a sufficient number of the health workforce in building resilient health systems. We must address the shortage in the health workforce, especially in nurses and midwives in our Region to raise up to the challenges. “As we progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets, including those related to education, gender, and economic growth, within the rapidly changing global health context, it is timely and imperative to invest in the nursing workforce.” reiterated Dr Ahmed Al-Mandahri, WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean adding that “We must respect nurses’ rights and well-being to secure global health”. WHO estimated that an additional 9 million nurses and Read more...
Source: WHO EMRO News - Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news