Midwifery and Womens Health

The nursing and midwifery leadership plays a critical role in building a viable health labour market to ensure successful implementation of the GSHRH 2030. An intersectoral agenda is central to solving the health workforce crisis in countries. The current health workforce demand to meet the SDGs is 4.45 midwives, nurses and doctors per 1000 population. This can be achieved by:

• optimizing the existing workforce in pursuit of the SDGs and UHC (e.g. by education, employment, retention);

• anticipating future workforce requirements by 2030 and planning the necessary changes (e.g. a fitfor-purpose, needs-based workforce); 

• strengthening individual and institutional capacity to manage HRH policy, planning and implementation (e.g. migration and regulation);

• strengthening the data, evidence and knowledge on cost-effective policy decisions (e.g. national health workforce accounts).

It is important to take gender into account with regard to the nursing and midwifery workforce. Data from the Global Health Observatory show that women constitute 70% of the current global health workforce, making a vital economic contribution to achieving the SDGs.Their efforts to address issues of gender balance should be encouraged. Nevertheless, developing countries face glaring challenges as they have the lowest number of nurses and midwives per population. The situation is made worse by increasing rural-urban and international migration. The SDNM 2016−2020 offers a policy solution to these challenges as it aims to provide available, accessible, acceptable, quality and cost-effective nursing and midwifery care for all, based on population needs and in support of the SDGs and UHC. Thus GCNMOs can be change agents by empowering nurses and midwives to fill service delivery gaps in countries. GCNMOs as decision-makers in Member States, nursing and midwifery associations and other partners can support the implementation of the GSHRH 2030 and the SDNM 2016−2020 to help achieve UHC and meet the SDGs. Nursing and midwifery leadership is critical to building primary health care.