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Nursing and midwifery
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 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.
Director General’s Award for Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al-Hussein of Jordan and the Tongan Nurse Choir
9 November 2020 – At the opening session of the resumed 73rd World Health Assembly, the Director- General bestowed the WHO Director-General’s Health Leaders Award for outstanding leadership in global health to Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al-Hussein of Jordan (HRH) for her “dedication and service to health and humanity” and her “tireless support over six decades for nurses and midwives”.
World Health Day 2020: Let’s show our support for nurses and midwives
“Today and every day, we acknowledge the work of nurses and midwives globally and in our Region. We show gratitude to them and solidarity with them, and we count on countries to mobilize all the support they deserve.”
Support nurses and midwives through COVID-19 and beyond
State of the World’s Nursing Report 2020
On World Health Day, WHO launched the first-ever State of the World’s Nursing Report 2020. The report provides a global picture of the nursing workforce and supports evidence-based planning to optimize the contributions of this workforce to improve health and well-being for all. The report will set the agenda for data collection, policy dialogue, research and advocacy, and investment in the health workforce for generations to come. A similar report on the Midwifery workforce will be launched in 2021.
2020 International Year of the Nurse and Midwife toolkit
Related links
EM/RC66/R.3
Strengthening the nursing workforce to advance universal health coverage in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
English | Arabic | French
EM/RC66/4
Strengthening the nursing workforce to advance universal health coverage in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
English | Arabic | French
Global strategic directions for strengthening nursing and midwifery 2016–2020
Global strategy on human resources for health: workforce 2030
