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  4. International Day of the Nurse, 12 May 2020

International Day of the Nurse, 12 May 2020

Message of WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti    

WHO has designated 2020, the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, and it is our great pleasure to join the International Council of Nurses, in celebrating the International Day of the Nurse on 12 May.

This year’s celebration coincides with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing. The theme is “Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health” which underscores the leadership and care nurses are providing for so many communities, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

I am deeply concerned that almost 1000 health workers in the African Region, have been infected with COVID-19. Many of them are nurses, working closely with communities. With public and private partners, we must do more to ensure nurses and other front-line workers have access to personal protective equipment, so that they can safely provide essential services to communities.

To limit the spread of infections in health facilities and improve the quality of patient care, at WHO we have trained over 3000 front-line health workers in Africa, including many nurses, through interactive webinars on infection prevention and control and case management. In collaboration with chief nurses and sub-regional nursing associations, even more nurses are being equipped with the skills and knowledge to slow the spread of this pandemic.

Many countries are also bringing on board more health workers to respond to COVID-19. Ghana, for instance, is recruiting over 10 000 nurses and midwives.

In the African Region, more than half our health workers (53%) are nurses. However, with a low density of nine nurses per 10 000 population in the African Region, many nurses are overworked. In villages and towns across the continent, nurses are taking on the lion’s share of providing routine health services and emergency response.

To overcome shortages, countries are training two nurses for every retiring nurse, but this would need to increase by at least 10% each year, to meet the Sustainable Development Goals target. At the same time, there are rising concerns of unemployment among nurses in Africa. To better understand and address these challenges, six countries[1] have conducted labour market analyses to make the case for more investment in the health workforce. In Angola, the Presidential Decree on Nursing Careers in 2019, has led to the recruitment of more than 5300 primary health care nurses.

In the African Region, WHO is working with countries to strengthen regulatory frameworks, and competency-based training for nurses. Public colleges in Lesotho and South Africa have developed competency-based nursing curricula using WHO’s regional prototype curriculum. Eswatini developed a competency framework using WHO’s regulatory guidance. Malawi, Namibia and Sierra Leone have also used these tools.

Ethiopia, Ghana and Nigeria have improved their nursing curricula and expanded training and recruitment. At least nine countries[2] are investing in specialist nursing education or advanced practice in paediatrics, oncology, emergency care and women’s health.

To harness synergies between nurses and other professionals, we encourage team-based approaches for effective service delivery. For example, the WHO Collaborating Centre on Interprofessional Education and Practice at the Kamuzu College of Nursing in Malawi is running an interprofessional transition course to improve team-based HIV care targeting newly qualified nurses, and other clinicians and allied health workers.

It is clear that great work is underway to strengthen nursing in Africa, but more investment is needed. So today, on the International Day of the Nurse, I call on governments, academic institutions, civil society organizations, and partners to invest in accelerating nursing education, job creation, career pathways, and leadership at all levels. Specifically, on the COVID-19 response, I ask all stakeholders to ensure nurses have the supplies and equipment they need to deliver care safely, that they have access to counselling and support for their mental health and psychosocial needs.

In closing, I would like to appreciate and congratulate all nurses in the African Region for your contributions every day to promoting health, keeping the world safe and serving the vulnerable.

Learn more:

[1] Benin, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Namibia, Sierra Leone and South Africa.

[2] Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.