On 6-7 June 2023, WHO hosted a virtual convening of the biennial Global Forum for Government Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers. The focus of the meeting was threefold: leadership for enhanced governance and management of national nursing and midwifery workforces, assessing progress on the Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery 2021-2025, and discussing priorities for the next State of the World’s Nursing report, planned for 2025.
Global Chief Nursing and Midwifery officers from 129 Member States participated in the meeting and shared achievements in the areas of education, jobs, leadership, and service delivery, along with areas for continued efforts to advance the Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery in their country contexts. For the next State of the World’s Nursing report, participants identified the areas of nursing shortages, retention, working conditions, and education as the highest priorities. The global indicators for each priority area was presented, and discussion focused on how to drive the reporting process in their countries using the National Health Workforce accounts platform.