The nursing and midwifery workforce in the African Region: optimizing and accelerating investments for resilient health systems: a regional technical report
The COVID-19 pandemic has again demonstrated that the attainment of global health goals, including universal health coverage and health security, hinges greatly on the availability, quality, and equitable distribution of a fit-for-purpose health workforce that includes nurses and mid-wives. They are a valuable resource whose contributions and innovations, when optimized, would fully harness inclusive health gains to ensure that no one is left behind. The Seventy-second World Health Assembly (WHA) designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, marked by global and regional events and two flagship global reports on nurses and midwives.
This first regional report on nursing and midwifery was produced in partnership with WHO collaborating centres to systematically document progress, innovations and lingering challenges relating to the nursing and midwifery workforce in the region. It provides comprehensive in-sights into the nursing and midwifery workforce. It offers a menu of policy options for governments to strengthen nursing and midwifery regarding education, employment, research and innovation, and lead- ership and stewardship.