The World Health Organization declares 2020 "Year of the Nurse and Midwife"

General News of Saturday, February 16, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-02-16

Felix Nyante, Executive Director / Registrar of Ghana's Board of Nursing and Midwifery, said his country was about to celebrate the bicentennial of Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing.

He acknowledged that his multitasking role was a significant contributor to the development of nursing and midwifery in Ghana and around the world.

Mr. Nyante has been entrusted to the Ghana News Agency on the World Health Organization (WHO) statement of the year 2020 entitled "Year of the World Health Organization". nurse and midwife "in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale.

According to a WHO statement, this designation should be presented to the member states of the 72nd World Health Assembly for final review and approval.

"Our practitioners are a valuable badet to the country and we intend to safeguard and strengthen the profession by investing more in improving education, professional development, standards and regulations.

Mr Nyante said the celebration would be used to reflect as a country our commitment and the mechanisms to be used to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 by 2030.

He said that with the ongoing scanning campaign in the regulation of training, education and practice of nursing and midwifery in Ghana, health care will produce more competent, safe outcomes fast and efficient, as recommended by Nightingale.

"We salute her for her resilience in the service of humanity and for the example that she has left us, which is just as relevant today as it is to her. was in his lifetime (1820-1910). "

WHO says the campaign is particularly important as nurses and midwives make up over 50% of the health workforce in many countries.

Howard Catton, Director, Nursing, Policy and Programs at WHO, said, "Next year we will have a unique opportunity to honor the contribution of nursing to the health of our world. celebrating the bicentenary of the birth of Florence Nightingale ".

He said, "This celebration provides a platform to recognize current and past nursing leaders around the world, to increase the visibility of the nursing profession in policy dialogue and to invest in the world of nursing. development and capacity building of nurses. Nurses, who represent about half of the health workforce and who are intrinsically linked to the ability of countries to address health priorities and achieve sustainable development goals, will realize the ambition of health for all. , "

Dame Donna Kinnair, Executive Director and Acting Secretary General of the Royal College of Nursing, said, "Modern nursing may be unrecognizable from Florence Nightingale's work, but she would be proud of the path our profession has taken. To mark two hundred years since birth with this dedication is extremely appropriate.

"As nurses around the world face similar challenges in this century, the work of WHO will further highlight the value of nurses as we collaborate with them to showcase innovation and skills. "

"Different countries and different health services face the challenge of insufficient numbers of nurses for staff security services, a lack of investment in future generations, or colleagues unable to reach their full potential. If we want to fight health inequalities around the world and fight major diseases in this century, it must change. "

"We look forward to the celebrations in 2020, but it must also be a year when the world will come together to take concrete, united action to put health and well-being at the center of our agenda."