9 million more nurses needed to achieve universal health coverage

2020/01/08 Agirre Ruiz de Arkaute, Aitziber - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza
• Osasuna

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared 2020 International Year of Nurses and Midwives. In her opinion, nurses and midwives play a decisive role in the health sector, since they have a direct and effective relationship with citizens to advise on health, participate in family planning, vaccinate and provide continuous care to patients. Thus, WHO has announced the need for 9 million more nurses worldwide to achieve the 2030 sustainable development goals and achieve universal health coverage. On the one hand, to have more resources to care for patients, but also to participate in health policy and assume responsibilities in positions of responsibility.

Sustainable development goals for 2030 include ensuring universal access to family planning services; reducing mortality for children under five to 2.5%; ending epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria; making available all safe medicines and vaccines; strengthening measures to prevent the abusive use of addictive substances; and significantly reducing the number of sick and dead from air, water and land pollution.

So, nurses and nurses. WHO says they should be at the heart of 20th century health challenges. Remember that they account for 50% of health personnel. Moreover, in many countries there is a first and only medical service. In addition to the knowledge technique, that of nurses and midwives is a work that requires a lot of intuition and sensitivity, for example, to care for the sick, or to help the women who give birth and the people who die at the door. WHO calls for visibility and strengthening of its work.