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Why Do We Need an International Organization for Nurses?

There are approximately 29 million nurses worldwide and 2.2 million midwives (WHO, 2024, May 3, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/nursing-and-midwifery).  That is an increase from 27.9 in 2020 (WHO, 2020). Still, there are not enough nurses available to provide all that is needed to care for the world population. The World Health Organization estimated that an additional 4.5 million nurses and 0.31 midwives are needed. WHO documented how important we are to the worlds’ healthcare systems as follows:

“Nurses and midwives play a pivotal role in improving health and contributing to the wider economy. Investing in them is imperative to achieve efficient, effective, resilient and sustainable health systems. They not only provide essential care but also play a critical role in shaping health policies and driving primary health care. Nurses and midwives deliver care in emergency settings ‘and safeguard the sustainability of health systems globally.

Globally, 67% of the health and social workforce are women compared to 41% in all employment sectors. Nursing and midwifery occupations represent a significant share of the female workforce.

More than 80% of the world’s nurses work in countries that are home to half of the world’s population. And one in every eight nurses pactices in a country other than the one where they were born or trained.

Higher levels of female nurses are positively correlated with health service coverage, and life expectancy and negatively correlated with infant mortality.” (WHO, 2024, May 3, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/nursing-and-midwifery).

As nurses, we individually work to improve quality of life for our patients every day. Wherever we practice, whatever our specialty, we can never be expected to give our lives or our health for the “greater good” again. We must have:

• Access to equipment to protect us from dangerous pathogens.
• Protection from violence directed against us.
• Respect from government officials and the people we serve.
• Compensation that is appropriate to the work that we do, and the risks that we must take to provide care for others in our practice settings.
• Financial and medical support for as long as it is needed, when we are injured or disabled due to a workplace acquired infection or injury.  

This organization was formed to provide an opportunity for individual nurses all across the globe to connect, share knowledge, and to help us use our voices and our keyboards to achieve meaningful change.

Membership is free so that every nurse who wants to can join without having to be concerned about the costs. Our power is in the critical nature of the work that we do and in the fact that there are millions of nurses worldwide.  

It is more important for nurses today than ever before to support other nurses that we may or may not know personally. Natural disasters, new and more infectious pathogens, deliberate targeting of medical facilities and hospitals in war torn countries, and violence directed at nurses are just a few of the obstacles to providing safe and high-quality care to patients.

In addition, when we do not allow ourselves to take time to recover from emotional and physical traumas, long shifts and heavy workloads, we become less resilient. We need to provide supportive nursing care to ourselves and our colleagues. Even things as simple as kind words or a smile do make a difference to someone who is having a rough day.