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December 4, 2017

ICN International Workforce Forum calls for planning and investment in human resources for health

In a public Communiqué, the Forum called on all governments to immediately work on HRH planning with all partners in health, education and human resources to do more to educate and retain nurses so each country can achieve a greater level of self-sufficiency in the supply of nurses.

Media Release

Geneva, Switzerland; Lisbon, Portugal, 4 December 2017 – Nurse leaders from seven national nursing associations (NNAs) around the world attending the International Council of Nurses (ICN) International Workforce Forum adopted and endorsed the WHO Global Priorities including the Sustainable Development Goals, Universal Health Coverage, Integrated Person Centred Care, and the Human Resources for Health (HRH) Declaration that HRH must be viewed as an investment not as a cost.

Held in Lisbon, 22-23 November 2017, the ICN International Workforce Forum (IWFF) welcomed the acknowledgment of the WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, that nurses and nursing care are essential to achieve these priorities.

In a public Communiqué, the Forum called on all governments to immediately work on HRH planning with all partners in health, education and human resources to do more to educate and retain nurses so each country can achieve a greater level of self-sufficiency in the supply of nurses.  Inspired by the recent Dublin Declaration’s call for “increased and transformative investments in the health workforce”, IWFF participants highlighted the need for governments and concerned ministries to work with NNAs to match the need for more nurses working in the primary health care sectors and in community based integrated care systems.

Read the full International Council of Nurses press release here.