Nurses have multiple roles: they provide and manage personal care and treatment, work with families and communities, and play a pivotal role in promoting public health and controlling disease and infection.
Nurses are often the first health workers that people see, and sometimes they are the only ones that people see. Therefore, the quality of the initial assessment, care, and treatment of cases they provide is extremely important. They are also part of their community – sharing its culture, strengths and vulnerabilities – and can therefore shape and implement effective interventions to meet the needs of patients, families and communities.
WHO response
WHO's work in the fields of nursing and midwifery is guided by World Health Assembly Resolution WHA7.64 (2011), which calls on the Organization and its Member States to strengthen the nursing and midwifery professions through a package of actions that includes harnessing the expertise of nurses and involving them in the development of human resources policies. Health.
The Global Strategic Directions for Strengthening the Nursing and Midwifery Profession 2016-2020 provide a framework for WHO and key stakeholders to develop, implement and evaluate deliverables in nursing and midwifery to ensure accessible, acceptable, quality and safe interventions. This framework proposes four broad themes to guide the contributions of the nursing and midwifery workforce to improving global health:
- Ensuring the availability of qualified, capable and motivated workers within effective and responsive health systems at all levels and in all locations;
- Making the most of policy development, effective leadership, management and governance; Maximizing the capabilities and potential of nursing and midwifery professionals through collaborative professional partnerships, education and sustainable professional development;
- Mobilize the political will to invest in building and developing an effective nursing and midwifery workforce based on evidence.
WHO engages ministries of health, senior government nursing and midwifery officials and other relevant stakeholders to enable effective planning, coordination and management of nursing and midwifery programs in countries. The International Forum for Chiefs of Government Nursing and Midwifery was established in 2004, and the organization organizes this forum, which meets every two years. This forum brings together senior officials in the fields of nursing and midwifery to develop and guide work areas of common interest. The organization also cooperates with academic institutions specialized in nursing and midwifery. There are 43 academic centers that have been designated as collaborating centers with the World Health Organization in the fields of nursing and midwifery, and these academic centers belong to the global network of collaborating centers with the World Health Organization for nursing and midwifery.
The World Health Organization also established the Global Health Workforce Network; It is a mechanism for cross-sectoral collaboration and multi-stakeholder engagement to advance the implementation of the Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030, and the recommendations of the United Nations High-level Body on Health Employment and Economic Growth. The Global Health Workforce Network's Centers for Leadership, Education, Gender and Youth work on high-priority issues related to nursing.
The World Health Organization is a collaborating partner in the “Nursing Now!” campaign. Which was launched in early 2018. The three-year campaign aims to improve health globally by raising the status and level of nursing, and defining what can be accomplished by strengthening the nursing profession and empowering those working in this field to maximize their contribution to achieving universal health coverage.
A 2017 report on the history of nursing and midwifery at the World Health Organization between 1948 and 2017 explains how the organization has striven since its inception for nurses and midwives to have a voice. The report also highlights the critical role that nurses will play in improving health outcomes in the coming years. Coming.