WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTÉ
WELTGESUNDHEITSORGANISATION Date: 20 November 2024
ВСЕМИРНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЯ
REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE Ms Helen Sõber
BUREAU RÉGIONAL DE L’EUROPE
REGIONALBÜRO FÜR EUROPA
Adviser
ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЕ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЕ БЮРО European Union Affairs and International Co-
Head office:
operation Department
UN City, Marmorvej 51, Ministry of Social Affairs
DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark Suur-Ameerika 1
Tel.: +45 45 33 70 00; Fax: +45 45 33 70 01
Email:
[email protected] 10122 Tallinn
Website: https://www.who.int/europe Estonia
Our reference: Your reference:
Notre référence: Votre référence:
Unser Zeichen: Ihr Zeichen:
См. наш номер: На Ваш номер:
Dear Ms Sõber,
WHO/Europe Nursing Action
I have the pleasure to inform you that the World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, in
collaboration with the European Commission and several key partners from the European Region are launching a
WHO/Europe Nursing Action to improve retention and recruitment in the WHO European Region.
The Nursing Action will be announced in January 2025 during the Polish Presidency of the Council of the
European Union as an initiative designed to support in-depth analysis and provide assistance to Member States
in their development of nursing recruitment and retention strategies. This first part of the action will take place
with participation of 14 EU countries and will run over the course of 2025-2027.
I am writing to invite you to facilitate the nomination of a focal point for this Nursing Action. The focal
point should be the Government Chief Nurse and/or a delegate who will work with national partners and the
WHO Regional Office over the coming two years to facilitate the exchange of information on nursing retention
and recruitment that can subsequently be used to identify, analyse and implement strategies in your country. A
Scope and Purpose document for the Nursing Action is attached to this letter.
I would be grateful if you could send the name, title and contact details of the proposed focal point by no
later than 20 December 2024. We shall then communicate with them directly and provide them with the
necessary documentation and administrative information.
Margrieta Langins, Nursing and Midwifery Policy Advisor, is responsible for this activity within our office.
We would appreciate if you would address your reply to her at
[email protected].
Thank you for your kind assistance.
Sincerely yours,
Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat
Director
Division of Country Health Policies and Systems
WHO Regional Office for Europe
UN City, Marmorvej 51 Tel.: +45 45 33 70 00 Email:
[email protected]
DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø Fax: +45 45 33 70 01 Website: https://www.who.int/europe
Denmark
Encls:
Scope and Purpose
Copy for information to:
Ms Triin Uusberg, Head, European Union Affairs and International Co-operation Department, Ministry of
Social Affairs, Suur-Ameerika 1, 10129 Tallinn, Estonia
H.E. Ms Riia Salsa-Audiffren, Ambassador Representative of the Republic of Estonia, Permanent Mission of
the Republic of Estonia to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Chemin
du Petit-Saconnex 28A, CH-1209 Genève, Switzerland
H.E. Mr Andre Pung, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Republic of Estonia,
Frederiksgade 19, 4th floor, 1265 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Ms Kristina Köhler, Liaison Officer, WHO Country Office, Estonia, Paldiski Road 81, 10617 Tallinn, Estonia
–2–
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTÉ
REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE BUREAU RÉGIONAL DE L'EUROPE
WELTGESUNDHEITSORGANISATION ВСЕМИРНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЯ
REGIONALBÜRO FÜR EUROPA ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЕ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЕ БЮРО
SCOPE AND PURPOSE
WHO REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE/ NURSING ACTION GCNMO HUB
Background
The current challenges facing health and social care, and the COVID-19 pandemic has
brought into sharp focus the vital role of nurses in the WHO European Region. Nurses
comprise upwards of 60% of the European countries’ health and care workforce. It is
imperative that nurses are protected in order to ensure they can continue to deliver the
important and valuable care they provide in all countries. Member States have a responsibility
to their nursing workforce, as they promote patient safety, population health outcomes and
economic development.
As governments move beyond the pandemic and work to address the complex array of
challenges facing health systems, and have endorsed bot the Global Strategic Directions for
Nursing and Midwifery and the WHO European Framework for Action on Health and Care
workforce to deliver the European Programme of Work, it is clear that the availability and
capacity of nurses is a fundamental element, vital for success. With heightened efforts to meet
the goals of universal health coverage and protect against future health emergencies the time
to retain and recruit nurses has never been more pressing.
An informed and supported ministry of health can help mobilize appropriate resources, actions
and supports to inform and shape strategies that can effectively support the retention and
recruitment of nurses.
The WHO – EU Nursing Action is a new project, led by the World Health Organization
Regional Office for Europe, funded by the European Commission and other key partners from
the European Region, including the European Federation of Nurses (EFN), the European
Nursing Students Association (ENSA), the European Forum for National Nursing and
Midwifery Associations (EFNNMA) and the European Public Sector Union (EPSU).
The project will be announced during the Polish Presidency in January 2025 as an initiative to
strengthen data, dialog and analysis in order to drive more evidence-driven recruitment and
retention strategies.
The strategic objectives of the Nursing Action are:
1. to build up the pool of European nurses to counteract structural shortages of nurses
in the Union and their negative impact on other regions of the world (traditional
origin countries of migrant nurses).
2. drive more policy focus and mobilize efforts to address the critical situation of
nurses in order to improve resilience of health systems and safety of care, which
are the central objectives of the European Health Union.
1
The activities embarked upon with selected Member States will include:
• Supporting the Member State to understand nursing recruitment trends in their
countries with a specific focus on diversifying recruitment and ensuring early career
nurses remain in the profession beyond the first 5 years of practice
• Support Member States to understand nursing retention trends in their countries with
a specific focus on wellbeing, working conditions and safe staffing to support in country
dialog and planning.
Implementation of the Nursing Action
The project will take place in a group of selected 14 countries in the EU and will run from 2025-
2027. Several of the countries selected have been identified based on current country
collaboration strategies (CCS). Other countries have presented themselves with a need for
WHO support through their Government Chief Nurses and their ministries of health.
In each participating country, a focal point will need to be selected to serve as a interface with
the WHO Regional Office for Europe. This is ideally a Government Chief Nurse but where
there is no such profile, the Ministry will be asked to appoint a health workforce focal point or
equivalent to work with WHO and national partners in progressing the project.
The terms of reference for the nominated government nursing focal point in this WHO
– EU Nursing Action will be as follows:
1. The focal point will communicate government priorities to the WHO team of experts
and partners in a timely manner, in order to prioritize efforts in data analysis and
learning opportunities needed by the country;
2. The focal point will secure relevant data and inputs for WHO experts to conduct
accurate trend analyses;
3. The focal point will convene relevant national partners as needed for data analysis,
dialog, discussions and learning cycles held throughout the course of the project;
4. The focal point will drive nationally relevant and appropriate efforts to strengthen
nursing workforce data and lead policy dialog that results in evidenced-based decision-
making on investment in the nursing workforce.
The WHO- EU Nursing Action will be organized by the Division of Country Health Policies and
Systems under the leadership of the Nursing and Midwifery Policy Advisor of the Health
Workforce and Service Delivery Unit.
Timing and duration
We will aim to hold regular (frequency to be determined by WHO/Europe) starting 1, February
2025. The duration of the WHO-EU Nursing Action will run until June 2027.
Language of operation
The discussions will be in English. Translation will be available, upon request.
2
Saatja: EURO Nursing Midwifery <
[email protected]>
Saadetud: 20.11.2024 10:55
Adressaat: <=?utf-8?Q?Helen_S=C3=B5ber?=>
Koopia: <"Triin Uusberg">; <
[email protected]>; <
[email protected]>;
<
[email protected]>; <
[email protected]>; KÖHLER, Kristina
<
[email protected]>
Teema: EST - WHO/Europe Nursing Action
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