ICN’s ruling Council raises key issues for nursing and health care, reinforcing need to adopt ICN’s Charter for Change

The ruling body of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has reinforced its call for all governments to confront the nursing workforce crisis and implement the ICN Charter for Change.

The Council of National Nursing Association Representatives (CNR), ICN’s governing body, which is composed of the leaders of ICN’s member associations in more than 130 countries, held its biennial meeting in Montreal, Canada, 29 June – 1 July, just prior to the ICN Congress.

CNR members discussed a wide range of issues affecting nurses and confronting health care providers everywhere. These included the desperate need for investment to bolster the workforce and enable nurses to contribute optimally to the creation of sustainable health systems that will finally be able to deliver the global goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC2030).

ICN President Dr Pamela Cipriano, who is a member of the UHC2030 Taskforce, said: “Our discussions at this CNR have shown the unity of the world’s most influential nurses in addressing the challenges of the day. Foremost of these is caring for our patients, which can only happen when there are sufficient numbers of nurses and their safety, rights, financial stability and wellbeing are protected. What is clear is that our governments and policymakers have failed to heed the lessons from the pandemic.

‘Our nurse leaders have told us they are extremely worried that, despite all the praise for nurses during the pandemic and the talk about supporting them in its aftermath, the lived experiences of nurses are very different. That is why we are calling on political leaders around the world to implement the policy actions outlined in our ten-point Charter for Change1.

‘We have done the work for them: it is now up to politicians and leaders of health care organisations to take action. They need to value, protect, respect and invest in our nurses for a sustainable future for nursing and health care everywhere.”

The CNR released a Communiqué highlighting key messages from the discussions, including UHC, ethical recruitment, investing in the health workforce, protection of migrants and refugees, respecting rights of nurses in conflict and disaster zones, and much more.

All of the issues discussed by the CNR will be examined in further detail in numerous sessions at ICN Congress.

For more information go to ICN Congress website or follow us on social media: #ICNCongress #ICN2023 @ICNurses

1.ICN’s Charter for Change was launched on International Nurses Day 2023 as part of ICN’s Our Nurses, Our Future campaign. The Charter lists ten action points for governments to implement to be able to address global health challenges and improve global health for all. Nurse staffing levels and nurses’ pay are particularly important issues for governments to address if they are serious about tackling the current worldwide shortages of nurses.