ICN ensuring nurses influence global strategy for health human resources.

Abstract

To ensure that nursing voices are heard throughout the development of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health (HRH): Workforce 2030, ICN is encouraging and facilitating the strong engagement of national nursing associations (NNAs) in the WHO consultation processes leading up to its review by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May, 2016. After more than three years work, the international community committed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the period 2016–2030, at the UN Sustainable Development Summit September 25–27, 2015. The title of the agenda is Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, follow on from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the period 2000–2015. The SDG agenda provides the investment framework for the next 15 years. Many of the SDGs, if not all, have a health dimension, such as those addressing poverty, nutrition and gender equality. With the political commitment to these broader goals and targets, the HRH global strategy will provide concrete recommendations and ideas on how to achieve them at a more technical level. Sandra MacDonald-Rencz, RN, MEd, CHE At global and national levels, decision-makers understand that substantial investments are needed to strengthen health systems and expand service delivery to meet populations' health needs, particularly those living in remote areas. In this context, policy-makers are rethinking health delivery systems and health worker roles and tasks, and introducing new roles to meet care needs, particularly within community settings and in hard to reach places. Additionally, as a core building block of health systems, many countries struggle with the realities and implications of health worker shortages compounded by poor distribution, inadequate preparation and utilisation, under-resourced workplaces, and lack of adequate incentives, all of which impact delivery of healthcare as well as retention. Increasingly, policy-makers recognise, particularly in resource poor countries where nursing comprises the major health professional workforce, that nursing must have a voice early in global policy initiatives such as the HRH global strategy. The 2014 WHA passed a resolution requesting the WHO Director-General to develop a global strategy on HRH for consideration by WHO Member States at the 2016 WHA. The first phase of the process, coordinated by the Global Health Workforce Alliance, involved a range of organisations, institutions and individuals, contributing to thematic papers then synthesized into a report given to WHO for consultation in 2015. As part of the second phase, ICN and WHO hosted the first professional consultation at the ICN Conference in the Republic of Korea in June 2015. ICN then submitted its responses to the online questionnaire and encouraged its members to do the same. ICN has established two working groups to guide its efforts on the HRH global strategy: an advisory committee composed of NNA representatives from WHO Regions, especially those with representatives on the WHO Executive Board; and a policy/research working group, composed of HRH researchers. The groups will help develop policy briefs, communiqués, information materials and tools for NNAs to use in meetings with government officials and others. After the 2016 WHA, ICN will continue to be engaged in providing direction on the HRH global strategy to WHO and other international partners. The strategy will require high-level collaborative efforts to move the agenda forward. ICN supports the establishment of a multi-agency coalition, and stands open and ready to partner and participate in this on-going dialogue. NNAs also have an important role in follow-up to the WHA. As an example, they will continue to communicate with their countries' government officials, who will be tasked with developing action plans for the implementation of key HRH strategies. Sandra MacDonald-Rencz, RN, MEd, CHE is leading ICN's work on the HRH global strategy and may be contacted at macrencz@gmail.com. She has served as the chief nursing executive within the Department of Health in the Government of Canada, and held senior executive positions with Accreditation Canada, Canadian Nurses Association and Canadian College of Healthcare Leaders. In these positions she participated in national and international committees and working groups concerned with health services, systems knowledge and policy development. Further information on the WHO Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health is available on both the ICN website: www.icn.ch/what-we-do/the-global-strategy-on-human-resources-for-health-workforce-2030/ and the WHO website: www.who.int/workforcealliance/media/news/2014/consultation_globstrat_hrh/en/.