At the Global Health Summit, co-organised by the Italian G20 Presidency and the European Commission, politicians collectively agreed on the Rome Declaration highlighting the principles and joint action to strengthen health systems and improve preparedness for future health crises. Evidence-based recommendations for action, strengthened by civil society and frontline expertise and experiences, informed the political discussion to build future health system resilience.
Following Prime Minister Mario Draghi, President Ursula von der Leyen and Peter Piot and other experts, the EFN President, Elizabeth Adams, and Bill Gates, presented to the G20 heads of states and governments. This G20 Summit provided the opportunity for EFN to mark the significant contribution of nurses (EFN President speech at G20) to the health and well being of society and to reflect on their vital daily work. The COVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed the value of well prepared and educated nurses which equate to lower mortality rates and better patient outcomes.
COVID-19 is an ongoing challenge to an already fragile health system. We all witnessed the devastating suffering of individuals and their families with some health systems being overwhelmed, inequality of access to care, equipment, vaccines, and other infrastructure challenges including the stark digital divide between countries and within countries. Technology is the change agent and nurses problem-solving expertise needs to be incoporated into the co-creation and co-design of digital solutions as the end-users who will translate the technology solutions into practice.
Nurses through their relentless commitment, expertise, professionalism, bravery, care for our most vulnerable, preserve millions of lives on a daily basis and provide comfort and dignified care at end of life.
G20 needs to invest in nursing and strategies for recruitment and retention which is a vital pillar to ensuring the building of a healthier, safer, fairer, resilient and more sustainable health systems with capacity for any unexpected crises that will protect the G20 pillars, namely the people, the planet and the prosperity of our world.
In concluding, the EFN President stated that “Investing in nursing is a certain investment in the health of G20 nations and people around the planet.”