Eleventh Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Health is central to human welfare and our continued existence. This paper describes the emergence of global nursing as a sustainable reality. Lord Crisp’s UK Triple Impact Model for Sustainable Development report, published in 2016, concluded that Universal Health Coverage will not be achieved without developing nursing globally. Nurses are the largest part of the professional health workforce and provide an enormous amount of care and treatment worldwide; however, they are very often under-valued and under-utilised. In response to the report, the Nursing Now movement has emerged and is stimulating the most remarkable global mobilisation of healthcare resources that we have ever seen. The campaign, launched in early 2018, is a collaboration between the World Health Organisation and the International Council of Nurses that has unified nurses internationally by advancing the status and profile of the profession. Nursing Now aims to increase nursing influence on global and national health policy, boost investment and engagement in nursing and midwifery education, develop consistency in professional regulation mechanisms, improve conditions of employment, and strengthen leadership and capacity for innovative practice. This paper shares examples of how these ideals are being actioned around the world. It is predicted that nurses will have an even more significant impact across the achievement of the global sustainable development goals in the future.