World Health Day 2020: Support nurses and midwives

2020 is the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. So the focus this World Health Day (7th April 2020) is on the vital role played by nurses and midwives in providing health care around the world, and call for a strengthening of the nursing and midwifery workforce.

• Nurses and midwives provide a broad range of essential health services close to the community and in all levels of health facility.
• Nurses and midwives are often the first and only health point of contact in their communities.
• The world needs 18 million more health workers to achieve and sustain universal health coverage by 2030. Approximately half of that shortfall – 9 million health workers – are nurses and midwives.
• Nurses and midwives often working in challenging circumstances: undervalued, under-resourced and overworked.
• 70 percent of the global health and social workforce are women. Nurses and midwives represent a large portion of this.

• Find out more about nursing in New Zealand (Ministry of Health).
• Get more information on midwifery in New Zealand (NZ College of Midwives).
• Find out more about the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife (World Health Organisation).

What you can do to support nurses and midwives

Here are some ideas on how you can support these important health care workers:

• Thank a nurse and midwife: Just imagine how powerful it would be if all the health workers in your area were thanked with a flower, card or a tweet. Share your photos on social media using the hashtag #SupportNursesAndMidwives. Make sure to personalize your messages.
• Send a letter: Sending a letter can be the first step to getting the attention of leaders and other politicians. Share your concerns with the people who make policies that can make a difference if you are a nurse or midwife.
• Develop a petition: Petitions are a great way to demonstrate wider support for change. Gather signatures, submit your request to the authorities, and publicize it as widely as you can.
• A day in the life of a nurse or midwife: Want to know what it’s like to be a nurse or a midwife? See if you can spend time alongside a nurse or midwife in your community. Learn more about them, their life saving work and become an advocate for them. Nurses and midwives are vital to our future, we need millions more.

Source: World Health Organisation website.