The World Health Organization declared 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife in recognition of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale to promote the nursing and midwifery professions and to elevate the public’s view of nurses and midwives and their contributions to the health of our communities.
Highlighting and valuing the work of nurses and other health care workers continues from 2020 into 2021, as the World Health Organization designated 2021 the International Year of the Health and Care Workers (YHCW). Under the theme Protect, Invest, Together, the YHCW campaign highlights the urgent need to invest in health workers for shared dividends in health, jobs, economic opportunity, and equity.
Under the leadership of the University of Washington School of Nursing, and in partnership with the Washington Health Care Authority and Washington Center for Nursing, our combined goals for supporting this year-long work include:
- – Providing free educational series and events to support nurses toward leadership roles, enabling their voices to be heard at decision making levels;
- – Enhancing the public’s understanding of the breadth and depth of what nurses and midwives do and the impact they have on the creation and preservation of healthy communities;
- – Recognizing and commemorating nurses who are overburdened, unprotected, and/or lost their lives during the pandemic;
- – Generating support for the nursing profession and increasing awareness of the many opportunities for future nurses or midwives.
To find out more, go to: Nursing Now Challenge
