Nursing the World to Health - ICN announces theme for International Nurses Day 2020

ICN’s theme for International Nurses Day 2020 is Nursing the World to Health, focusing on the true value of nurses to the people of the world

Each year, ICN leads the celebrations on International Nurses Day, which is traditionally held on 12 May, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.

Next year’s celebrations will be extra special because the World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2020 as The Year of the Nurse and Midwife, and because it will be the 200th anniversary of Nightingale’s birth. To mark the occasion, ICN is planning and coordinating a wide range of activities throughout the year.

The theme for 2020, Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health, demonstrates how nurses are central to addressing a wide range of health challenges. It will encourage nurses and the public to celebrate the big day, but also provide information and resources that will help to raise the profile of the profession throughout the year and attract a new generation into the nursing family.

ICN President Annette Kennedy said she is expecting 2020 to be a momentous year for the profession:

“Having the Year of the Nurse and Midwife coincide with Florence Nightingale’s bicentennial raises the exciting prospect of nurses finally being recognised for all the good they do.

All around the world, nurses are working tirelessly to provide the care and attention people need, whenever and wherever they need it.

We want next year’s International Nurses Day to highlight that nurses are central to the delivery of health care, that nurses are making invaluable contribution to the health of people globally. Nurses, because of their unique role of working with people from birth to death, need to be involved in health policy.”

Other key events next year include the publication of the first WHO State of the World’s Nursing report, which will provide a detailed snapshot of the nursing workforce globally, and the Nursing Now Campaign’s Nightingale Challenge, which will produce a new cohort of young nurse leaders who will take the profession forward over the next decade.

In addition, the world’s National Nursing Associations will be organising local events throughout the year to celebrate the profession and demonstrate its unique position in the healthcare landscape.

The new IND 2020 logo can be downloaded here in English, French and Spanish

Download the full press release here

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