WHO GOVERNMENT CHIEF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY OFFICERS FORUM
Location: Geneva
WHO CC UTS has been attending the WHO Government Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers Forum since 2008. Held during the World Health Assembly, the Government Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers convene to discuss their future directions.
The Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery Development, 2016-2020, highlights the need to continue to invest and grow the nursing and midwifery workforce in many countries. Also launched by this forum are the Roles and Responsibilities of Government Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers.
THE TRIAD
Location: Geneva
Government chief nursing and midwifery officers, leaders of national nursing and midwifery associations and regulatory bodies from 95 countries, together with the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and the World Health Organization, meet in Geneva during the World Health Assembly for the Triad meeting. The Triad focuses on the future of the nursing and midwifery workforces and addresses issues critical to the provision of safe, quality nursing and midwifery care and effective regulation of the professions. Many informal and formal discussions and debates are held. Discussions support the Sustainable Development Goals.
WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY
Location: Geneva
Every year member states of the World Health Organization come together for the World Health Assembly (WHA). The current WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, took office July 2017 and committed to having a senior level staffing person representing the nursing community on [his] team at WHO’ during his tenure. He subsequently appointed the previous Chief Nurse and Health Secretary for the Cook Islands Elizabeth Iro.
During the WHA, WHO CC UTS is represented at side meetings and collaborations by Ms Michele Rumsey, Director of WHO CC UTS. These are important events, with the purpose of advocating for the nursing and midwifery profession on a global scale.
The Global Network of WHO CCs is always active on Twitter at these events with more than 43,000 impressions and meets with nursing and midwifery leaders from partner organisations and around the world.
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF NURSES
Every two years more than 8000 nurses from over 130 countries gather to participate in the world’s largest gathering of the profession, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Congress. The ICN is a federation of more than 130 national nurses associations representing more than 20 million nurses worldwide. WHO CC UTS keeps up to date and attends these global events to continue advocating, and understanding the issues, for nursing and midwifery.
INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF MIDWIVES
The Triennial Congress for International Confederation of Midwives is also an event attended by WHO CC UTS. The Congress focuses on midwifery education, information sharing, networking and strategies for the role that midwives will play over the coming years in the sexual, reproductive, maternal and newborn health space.
The Congress is a leading forum for midwifery with the aim of achieving progress in the care of pregnant women, mothers, newborns and their families. A rich selection of experts in the field of midwifery and global health present during the Congress.
STTI - INFLUENCE THROUGH ACTION: ADVANCING GLOBAL HEALTH, NURSING, AND MIDWIFERY
The Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (STTI) Biennial Convention discusses how nurses advocate for and lead interprofessional change to improve and influence global health and health policy; to promote knowledge transformation and lifelong learning within practice and education and to expand scholarly and philanthropic collaboration among nurses in practice, education, and research globally. WHO CC UTS and many members of the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for nursing and midwifery attend and meet together during the biennial convention.
GLOBAL FORUM ON HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH
The Global Forum on Human Resources for Health provides key opportunities for all stakeholders to discuss and debate innovative approaches towards advancing the implementation of the WHO Global Strategy for nursing and midwifery and the High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth recommendations, and show a collective commitment to developing and making available the workforce required to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainabledevelopment-goals/
Michele Rumsey, Director WHO CC UTS attends and presents on global panels when required. Other WHO CC UTS members such as Professor James Buchan attend, organise and/or chair a sessions on new roles in human resources for health.
WHO TASKFORCE ON NURSING AND MIDWIFERY
A WHO Taskforce on Nursing and Midwifery was launched at the World Health Assembly in 2018. The Secretariat of the Global Network of WHO CCs worked alongside Chief Nurse for WHO, Elizabeth Iro, who set up the WHO Taskforce in the context of Universal Health Coverage.
The Taskforce was launched as WHO currently lacks a nursing and midwifery governance mechanism capable of developing a systematic approach to strengthening and expanding the involvement and contribution of nursing and midwifery theory, knowledge and experience within WHO. The Director General tasked the Chief Nursing Officer and a group of nurses and midwives to champion an open, inclusive organization wide approach, drawing upon the contributions of relevant stakeholders, partners and professional organizations.
This Taskforce provides an interdisciplinary platform to strengthen, mainstream and make visible the contributions of WHO nurses and midwives at WHO headquarters, regional and country offices.
The Taskforce has five interconnected objectives:
1. Strengthen leadership to inform and shape future contributions of nurses and midwives, advocate and gain political commitment, develop a plan of action.
2. Improve coordination to develop platform for coordination between WHO offices, facilitate inputs by nurses and midwives into WHO policy and programmes.
3. Increase collaboration between WHO and other nursing and midwifery institutes and experts and identify opportunities for increasing strategic influence of nurses and midwives.
4. Develop research and evidence among other strategies, explore nursing and midwifery related gaps and identify where contributions to research, evidence and normative guidance; enhance role of WHO Collaborating Centres.
5. Enhance partnerships to embed nursing and midwifery perspectives into Global Health Initiative policies and practices, systematically ensure the inclusion of nursing and midwifery partners and agencies in global, regional and country decision making processes.
NURSING NOW CAMPAIGN
Nursing Now is a campaign in partnership with WHO and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and was launched in early 2018 and presented to the Triad meeting. In the lead up to the global launch the Secretariat of the Global Network the WHO CC UTS collaborated closely with the campaign, providing research and surveys from the Global Network of WHO CCs to enrich their knowledge and build connections.
At the World Health Assembly in 2017, Lord Crisp presented his work on the 'Triple Impact of the Development of Nursing' outlined by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Global Health Report. A member of the WHO CC UTS, Adjunct Professor James Buchan was one of the expert witnesses to the APPG. The Nursing Now campaign is based on this report which proposes that the development of nursing worldwide will lead to 'improved health, the promotion of gender equality and increased economic growth' on a global scale.
WHO PACIFIC HEADS OF HEALTH
Location: Fiji
WHO CC UTS presented to the South Pacific Community (SPC) and WHO Director of Clinical Services (DCS) Meeting at the annual Pacific Heads of Health meeting in 2017 and secured ongoing representation for the South Pacific Chief Nursing and Midwifery Offices Alliance. This will occur through their attendance at the annual Pacific Director of Clinical Services meetings, where SPCNMOA will represent issues and strategies of nursing and midwifery - the largest health workforce in the region and globally.
Senior health leaders from 22 Pacific Island countries and territories along with regional and international health professionals meet in Fiji for the Regional Medical Councils (RMC) Meeting and the Directors of Clinical Services (DCS). These meetings precede the Pacific Heads of Health Meeting, organised by the South Pacific Community (SPC) with support from the Government of Australia, Government of New Zealand, World Bank and WHO. The meetings provide a forum to review issues and contribute towards decisions that impact regional health policy.
The following recommendations are prioritised to address ongoing challenges for Pacific nursing and midwifery:
- revision of legislation and regulations relating to nursing and midwifery services;
- establishment of standards for educational quality, accreditation and continuing professional development;
- establishment of a regional registration framework for nurse practitioners and other specialist programmes;
- a regional meeting of Pacific nursing and midwifery leaders to develop minimum standards in line with global standards.
- the need for a regional mechanism for nursing and midwifery to provide continuing professional development, capacity building for training, protocols and standards development.
AUSTRALASIAN AID CONFERENCE
Location: Australia
The Australasian Aid Conference brings together researchers from across Australia, the Pacific, Asia and beyond who are working on aid and international development policy to share insights, promote collaboration, and help develop the research community. The AAC has established itself as Australia’s premier aid and development conference. The WHO CC UTS where possible presents research and projects carried out across the region on health system strengthening. Continuing to collaborate and show leadership in this field with peers and other health care workers in the region is an important strategy of the WHO CC UTS to implement health workforce policies and strategies.