Need 1.9 Million More Nurses, Midwives to Achieve Health for All

Need 1.9 Million More Nurses, Midwives to Achieve Health for All

Working as a nurse often requires her to spend more time away from her family and home.

Thie year, World Health Day falls in the middle of a global pandemic when the need for accessible healthcare cannot be stressed more.

In the novel coronavirus health emergency, we know that healthcare workers are our frontline heroes who need protection and respect.

This World Health Day is themed to honour some unsung heroes of the healthcare workforce: nurses and midwives.

Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia,“Nurses and midwives are central to quality health services for all, for preventing illness, promoting health throughout the life-course, caring for mothers, newborns and children to giving life-saving immunizations, health advice, and looking after older people.”

According to a WHO South Asia press release, South Asian countries need to increase efforts to “expand their nurses and midwives’ cadre by 1.9 million to achieve health for all by 2030.”

Also Read: Early Mornings and Late Nights: A Day in the Life of a Nurse

The WHO required minimum is of 40 nurses by 10 000 population; by contrast, our regional average is of 37 nurses per 10 000 population.

“We need to increase the number of nurses and improve nursing education; we need to improve the number of jobs for nurses, their quality and distribution in rural and marginalized areas; and we need to enhance leadership, management and the assignment of specialized roles for nurses,” said Dr Singh in the WHO press release.