“Nurses are the backbone of any health system,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on World Health Day, April 7, 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic that had infected over 1.3 million people and killed over 75,000 kept hospitals under strain.
The day’s theme was nursing and midwifery, and it came with a number attached. The World Health Organisation called for six million more nurses worldwide by 2030 to deal with what it called an “alarming shortage.”
The count today
Nurses make up 59 per cent of the world’s healthcare staff. The global nursing workforce stands at 27.9 million, up 4.7 million since 2013. That growth is not enough, the WHO said, and more must be done to draw people into the profession and support them.
The figures appear in the first State of the World’s Nursing Report, released that Tuesday. It urged member states to invest in a “massive acceleration” of nursing education and to create at least 6 million new nursing jobs by 2030. It also asked governments to put nurses in decision-making roles and to include the profession when policy is drawn up. Noting that nursing remains female-dominated, it said health services should recruit more men.
Where the gaps are
The countries that need trained nurses most are poorer ones in Africa, southeast Asia, the Middle East and parts of South America. Howard Catton, chief executive of the International Council of Nursing, warned that richer countries may rely on the Philippines and India to “supply the world with nurses,” which could leave significant shortages in India.
Dr Ahmed Al Mandhari, the WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said the gap is hurting care in his region. “If we do not strengthen the nursing and midwifery workforce, healthcare systems will be unable to provide efficient and quality care,” he said. He asked member states to “accelerate efforts and invest in nurses and midwives.”
Tedros said many nurses were on the frontline of the battle against Covid-19 and called for ensuring “the support they need to keep the world healthy.”
Protests and tributes
The tributes came as medical staff in several countries protested over how they were being treated. In Greece, health workers rallied on Tuesday against working conditions and a lack of staff and equipment in public hospitals. In Pakistan, more than 50 doctors were arrested on Monday in the southwestern city of Quetta after rallying near the city’s main hospital.
Public figures posted thanks to nurses and other healthcare staff, among them the British royal family, European Council President Charles Michel and Indian actor Mahesh Babu. Many of the messages also told people to stay home while the virus continued to spread.
