Like other parts of the globe, International Nurses Day was also observed in Pakistan on Friday in recognition of their tireless and invaluable contribution to health care and health security.
According to World Health Organization’s (WHO) report, 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 one to 81 per 10,000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic has demon-strated 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 Ah-med 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 nine million nurses and midwives are needed if the world is to achieve UHC by 2030.
In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, despite high-level political commitment and continued efforts to strengthen nursing, progress has been slow. In 2019, the Regional Committee adopted a call for action to accelerate the action to strengthen nursing and midwifery.
