Year of the Midwife and Nurse 2020

International Midwife Day and International Nurses Day

The World Health Organisation has declared 2020 is the International Year of Nurses and Midwives, with International Midwives Day celebrations on Tuesday, May 5th and International Nurses Day celebration on Tuesday, May 12th.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale – the world’s most famous nurse.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), nurses and midwives account for nearly 50 per cent of the global health workforce. WHO estimates the world will need an extra 9 million nurses and midwives by 2030 to reach Sustainable Development Goal 3 (to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages).

The International Nurses Day is themed ‘Nursing – A Voice to Lead: Nursing the World to Health’. The declaration comes at a very apt time when the world has been shaken by COVID-19.

We would like to acknowledge the significant contribution of all our more than 150 midwives and 5000 nurses, you truly are heroes. Thank you to the midwives and nurses below who share their thoughts with us about what nursing means to them.