International Nurses Day is celebrated annually around the world on May 12, the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, to mark the contributions nurses make to individuals, communities and nations across the globe. Established by the International Council of Nurses in 1965, the 2023 theme is: “Our Nurses. Our Future.”, calling attention to what nursing needs now and in the future to address global health challenges, strengthen global health systems and improve global health.
COVID-19 heightened the world’s awareness of the vital role nurses play in fighting epidemics and pandemics while providing high-quality and respectful treatment and care. But nurses have been at the forefront before in epidemics including AIDS, TB, Ebola and cholera and will be there to face future outbreaks and pandemics yet to be named.
Nurses and midwives are at the forefront of global health care. They are often the first, and sometimes the only, health professional that people see and the quality of their initial assessment, care and treatment is vital. Nurses account for more than half of all the world’s health workers, yet there is an urgent shortage of nurses worldwide with 5.9 million more nurses still needed, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Global health requires greater investments in the global nursing workforce and this includes nursing education, safe staffing and fair compensation, better working conditions and protections, a commitment to workplace safety, and respect for and inclusion of nursing perspectives and leadership in healthcare across the globe.
The
International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nursing associations representing the millions of nurses worldwide. The
American Nurses Association (ANA) is a member of ICN, and ANAC is an organizational affiliate of ANA, creating a pathway for our connection to ICN.
How does ANAC support global nursing?
ANAC has members in nearly 50 countries worldwide. Our global members are established leaders, emerging professionals and novice providers and students in nursing and other healthcare disciplines. They bring expertise and knowledge in local and global healthcare, health policy, research, cultural and social issues to ANAC. Much of our initiatives related to global HIV nursing arise out of the
ANAC global committee. The committee includes members from the U.S., Kenya, the Philippines, Malawi and Nigeria. Global members also sit on the policy, research, DEI and nominating committees and are invited to apply for any committee of interest. Educational programming developed for conference and
webinars include global topics and global faculty. Every two years, ANAC offers the Excellence in Global HIV Nursing Award, which recognizes a nurse doing exemplary work in environments that often pose many unique challenges. It includes support for their attendance at the ANAC conference. Advocacy for investments in global programming such as PEPFAR and the Global Fund is part of
ANAC’s policy agenda, as is
advocacy for human rights, including LGBT rights across the world.
HIV/AIDS nurse certification is open to global nurses and has been awarded to nurses from Canada, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Oman and the Philippines.
The
JANAC Editorial Board includes members from eight countries in addition to the U.S. and high-quality, peer-reviewed manuscripts from global nursing and healthcare researchers and scholars are in every issue.
Established in 1996, the
International Nursing Network for HIV/AIDS Research, an ANAC affiliate, has worked with scholars from many parts of the world. Network investigators live and work around the world in Botswana, Canada, China, Columbia, Kenya, Namibia, Norway, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, Peru and Puerto Rico.
We are proud to be part of the global nursing community!
