ICN's new President meets WHO leaders to strengthen partnership and raise critical issues

Last week, newly-elected ICN President Dr José Luis Cobos Serrano met with the World Health Organization’s Assistant Director-General of Health Systems, Dr Yukiko Nakatani, who will oversee the newly-combined WHO Academy, Health Workforce and Nursing department as well as Chief Nursing Officer Dr Amelia Latu Afuhaamango Tuipulotu and senior health workforce advisers. Dr Cobos Serrano was on his first official visit to Geneva and was accompanied by ICN CEO Howard Catton. ICN and WHO leaders engaged in open and detailed discussions about the current restructuring of WHO and the critical importance of ensuring expert nursing advice is available across all WHO functions while addressing the breadth of the health workforce agenda including shortages, decent work and migration.

The conversations reaffirmed WHO and ICN’s longstanding and deep collaboration as well as ICN’s absolute support for a highly effective and adequately resourced WHO in order to protect and advance global health for all. Discussions also focused on significant recent shared accomplishments, including the release of the latest State of the World’s Nursing (SOWN) report and the unanimous decision to extend the Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery at this year’s World Health Assembly, and how the mandate from member states at the recent WHA would be advanced.

ICN’s President also raised concerns that the breadth and depth of nursing advice and expertise across all WHO functions must not be diluted. As the largest healthcare profession, 30 million nurses around the world are central to the delivery of every aspect of health care from universal health coverage to prevention and control of non-communicable and communicable diseases; health emergencies, preparedness and response; antimicrobial resistance; and climate effects on health.

Dr Cobos Serrano commented:

“It was a great pleasure to meet with Dr Nakatani and Dr Afuhaamango Tuipulotu on behalf of the world’s 30 million nurses to strengthen our alliance and our shared goals and aspirations and to ensure that nursing remains central to WHO. WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has frequently referred to nurses as the backbone of our health systems and I couldn’t agree with him more. Our profession is the key to transforming health systems and addressing health challenges worldwide and that is why the nursing backbone must be present within WHO as well as in member states’ health systems.

‘We also discussed the vital importance of the wide range of health workforce functions that need support and strengthening. The future WHO Academy must be about more than just training but also address the shortage of 5.8m nurses, improve working conditions, ensure ethical migration and accelerate progress on strengthening the health workforce of tomorrow.

‘The nursing and health workforce is central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and UHC as well as responding to the many global crises and conflicts that currently exist. ICN is committed to and looks forward to continuing to work extremely closely with WHO to improve global health.”