A progress report of the group evaluating the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic praised the nurses but also expressed concerns about the price to be paid, in the long term, by the profession.
The Independent Expert Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response Measures presented its findings to the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 19, 2021.
The main message of the report is that the world was not prepared for a pandemic and that it will have to do better in the future.
The report incorporates information from the International Council of Nurses (ICN) webinar, held in December 2020, in which nurses from around the world shared their experiences with one of the group’s co-chairs, Ms. Helen Clark, l former Prime Minister of New Zealand.
The report points to the severe shortage of nurses around the world and highlights concerns that many nurses are overworked and intend to leave the profession earlier than expected, which must be put in direct relation to the repercussions of the pandemic of COVID-19.
Speaking at the WHO Executive Board meeting, the Independent Panel’s other co-chair, former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, said: “We need to listen more to health workers and take into account their advice, and draw on the knowledge of those leading the response at the local level. “
Ms Clark said: “The world must do two things: act now more decisively to contain the pandemic; and fundamentally overhaul the preparedness and response systems to ensure that this does not happen again. “
Howard Catton, Executive Director of ICN, said the Independent Panel understood how essential nurses have been during the pandemic, the enormous efforts they have made and their crucial role for the future.
“Ms. Sirleaf and Ms. Clark clearly saw the holes the pandemic has exposed: the global nursing shortage symbolizes the world’s lack of preparedness for a pandemic. The world will need ten million more nurses by 2030; otherwise, gaping gaps will emerge between the health care available in rich countries and that in low- and middle-income countries. This week, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, portrayed the current situation as one of a world on the brink of disastrous moral failure, with the vaccines delivered so far having been overwhelmingly delivered. in high income countries. ICN called for health workers around the world to prioritize vaccines. Our national associations nonetheless report slow progress and an uneven start. Knowing that 90% of the world’s nurses are women and that 89% of shortages are in low- and middle-income countries, it is feared that we are following the course that exacerbates inequalities and not one that eliminates them. “
“Nurses are at the heart of the pandemic response: they play a key role in managing COVID-19 today and tomorrow and re-establishing health services that were neglected during the pandemic. Governments must do everything in their power to invest in the recruitment and retention of nurses and give us a chance to achieve the global ambition of accessible and affordable health services for all. “
“To restore our health systems, governments must invest in nursing employment, training and leadership, as highlighted in the WHO and ICN report on state of nursing in the world, published last year. The experience acquired by the nursing profession will be an indicator of the fulfillment of commitments made by governments and a catalyst for the changes required for health systems everywhere. “
Download the press release here
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