2020 International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife

Here at the School of Nursing and Health Studies, we’re excited to celebrate the World Health Organization’s designation of 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. As a PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre since 2008, we are deeply committed to building nursing workforce capacity and improving patient safety throughout the Western Hemisphere. This year we come together as educators and health providers to raise the profile and status of nursing worldwide.


Nursing: A Voice to Lead — Nursing the World to Health

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to propel nursing and midwifery into the spotlight and onto the agenda of governments globally, with the ultimate goal of improving #healthforall. The world’s 22 million nurses and 2 million midwives make up half of the global health workforce–providing vital health care everywhere. Developing and investing in the nursing profession is key to health care in 2020 and beyond. We want to encourage more nurses into leadership positions, and ensure that nurses around the world have access to quality education and improved working conditions. This is our year, so let’s make the most of it.

Throughout 2020 at SONHS, we’ll be hosting events and leading initiatives that draw attention to the greater role nurses and other health professionals can play as part of multidisciplinary teams, providing high-quality, patient-centered health care. Nurses can be the answer to so many of the world’s health problems—if we tackle persistent barriers they routinely face and provide them with high-quality support and education. Let nurses lead and they will change the world!

For more information, visit www.who.int/campaigns/year-of-the-nurse-and-the-midwife-2020.