ICN’s call for International Nurses Day 2026: empower nurses to save lives

ICN has announced the theme for International Nurses Day (IND) 2026: Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives. This focus sends a clear message that to maximize the full life-saving impact of the nursing workforce, we must empower nurses with safe, fair work environments and full nursing practice, influence, and leadership. The theme comes at a critical time, as global health faces unprecedented challenges from workforce shortages, rising health care demands, and increasing effects of conflict and climate change. Nurses continue to sustain care, protect communities, and hold health systems together, often under immense strain, but their work is often not fully recognized or supported.

José Luis Cobos Serrano, ICN President, emphasized the urgency of this year's message:

"We chose this IND 2026 theme because it recognizes that in this moment of intense global pressure, every day, all around the world, nurses are doing extraordinary work to both save and improve the lives of individuals and entire communities. It also makes clear that nurses need to be fully empowered to make the greatest impact on people’s health. ‘My watchword as ICN President is empowerment, and this year’s theme reflects that commitment to ensuring nurses have the authority, resources, and working conditions they need to deliver exceptional care. True empowerment means eliminating the barriers that prevent nurses from using their full knowledge and skills and creating pathways for nurses’ voices to shape the future of care.”

Building on the success of previous IND themes — The economic power of care (2024) and Caring for nurses strengthens economies (2025) — IND 2026 shifts focus to the enormous power nurses hold to make health care safe, effective, and accessible to all.

ICN will publish an evidence-based IND report focused on harnessing the power of nurses to improve health outcomes and deliver the trusted, person-centred primary care that can transform health systems and address our world’s biggest health challenges. The report will outline the key actions needed to recruit and retain a strong nursing workforce by investing in safe working conditions, fair compensation, and meaningful opportunities for leadership, education, and influence.

International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every 12 May, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. ICN commemorates this important day each year by choosing a theme and producing an IND report and resources. We encourage all nurses, organizations, leaders, and the general public to share and post the IND logo and social media banners, available here, using the hashtags #IND2026 and #OurNursesOurFuture