Copenhagen

What impact do Europe’s 6 million nurses and midwives, the largest single group of health professionals, have on public health? How can health systems better utilise nurses and midwives to improve health? These are some of the key issues that will be debated by Ministers of Health and other high level health decision makers from the 51 countries of WHO’s European Region in a landmark health summit in Munich, 15-17 June 2000.

“Nurses and midwives throughout our Region are uniquely positioned to help health systems improve their performance,” notes Dr Marc Danzon, World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Director for Europe. “Since the first WHO ministerial conference that took place in Vienna over ten years ago, little progress has been made in Europe towards strengthening the status and making full use of the potential of nurses and midwives. The key missing ingredient has been strong political support. Ministers of Health will address this challenge in Munich and take action to change it.”

Delegates at the Second WHO Ministerial Conference on Nursing and Midwifery in Europe will work on a Munich Declaration, which will aim to identify specific actions to support and enhance the capacities of nurses and midwives to improve the health, health care and quality of life of all.

New research and case studies, to be introduced at the conference, demonstrate the key and increasingly important role that nurses and midwives play in society’s efforts to tackle the serious public health challenges of our time including aging, AIDS, chronic illness, hospital rationalisation as well as care for homeless and migrant populations. Often the first point of contact with health-care systems, nurses and midwives ensure the provision of high-quality, accessible, sensitive health services which address people’s needs. Yet most nurses and midwives continue to be underpaid, unrecognised and often disrespected. Proper recruitment, education and retention strategies are still lacking in most European countries.

The conference will introduce and advocate for a new family health nurse role.

“Family health nurses work in partnership with individuals and families to help them to find solutions to their own health needs, helping them to manage illness and chronic disability and supporting them during times of stress,” notes Ainna Fawcett-Henesy, WHO’s Regional Adviser for Nursing and Midwifery. “Such nurses, in partnership with doctors and midwives, act as a health resource providing advice on lifestyle and behavioural risk factors, and are key health promoters in the community. There are many different models of community nursing provision currently in use across the Region, many of which already contain some elements of the family health nurse role. We will build on these models.” Sixteen pilot sites across the European Region have been designated for family health nurse development.

The Munich conference will also be the launching platform for the HEALTH21 Nurse HEALTH21 Midwife “rainbow heart” campaign. Together with the International Council of Nursing (ICN) and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), WHO is urging all European nurses and midwives to take a pledge to rededicate their skills and experiences to achieve the goals of HEALTH21. After taking the pledge, nurses and midwives will be presented with a special rainbow heart pin to wear at work.

HEALTH21 is the health for all policy framework adopted by WHO’s European Member States in September 1998. It identifies nurses and midwives as key groups of health-care professionals singled out as being “at the hub of the network of services” needed to achieve the goals, aims and targets of the policy. A “Nursing for HEALTH21” document, which identifies specific actions nurses and midwives can take to assist their health systems in achieving the 21 targets, will be introduced at the Munich conference.

“We are pleased to host this important conference,” notes Andrea Fischer, Federal Minister of Health of Germany. “We welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with all relevant ministries and bodies nationally, sub-nationally and internationally in taking steps towards realizing the full potential of nurses and midwives in our health systems.”

---

For more information, contact:

Communication and Public Affairs WHO Regional Office for Europe Scherfigsvej 8, DK-2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark Fax: +45 39 17 18 80 E-mail: fap@who.dk or ana@who.dk

Nursing and Midwifery WHO Regional Office for Europe Scherfigsvej 8, DK-2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark E-mail: ana@who.dk

 

---