Happy International Nurses Day

Today is International Nurses Day – A day to honor our nurses worldwide.  Celebrated around the world on May 12, to commemorate the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.

We take time to thank all nurses worldwide for their ongoing commitment and dedication to caring for patients and community with compassion, respect, integrity and collaboration.

WHO declared the year of 2021 as the Year of the Health and Care Workers, and with the 2021 theme: “Protect. Invest. Together.”, they highlight the urgent need to invest in health workers so that they are supported, protected, motivated and equipped to deliver safe health care to us all.

The pandemic has indeed burdened our health infrastructure unlike ever before. However, despite the magnitude of the situation, our health workers — doctors, nurses and others — have been at the forefront fighting the virus and saving lives.

Focus on The Nurse and Midwife Continues in 2021

Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare system who have been risking their lives for months. Despite their importance to our health infrastructure, there is an urgent shortage of nurses worldwide despite them constituting more than half of the health workers, according to the World Health Organization.

Did you know that the global nursing workforce is estimated at 27.8 million? We were already facing 5.9 million nurse shortage before the COVID-19 pandemic. It is estimated that we need 4.7 million new nurses to be educated within the next 10 years (calculated retirement expectations). Approximately 13 million nurses will be needed to fill the global nursing shortages in the next few years.

The theme for International Nurses Day 2021 is: ”A Voice to Lead – A vision for future healthcare”. International Council of Nurses (ICN) latest report lays out a vision for future healthcare and aims to outline core features and levers required for the vision.

The Year of the Nurse and Midwife was extended into 2021. We will continue to highlight nurses and midwives worldwide for their dedicated work and contribution to our health care.