National Seminar on ‘International Day of Nurses’
On eve of ‘International Nurses Day’, ILO and WHO formed a national Network for research and advocacy for improving working conditions of healthcare workers
ISLAMABAD (ILO News) - ILO together with WHO, International Council of Nurses (ICN), and Women in Global Health (WGH), marked the International Nurses Day and jointly formed a national network to conduct more precise research, advocacy and awareness raising on decent working conditions for healthcare workers in Pakistan. A cross-section of stakeholders including Government, employers, healthcare workers, nursing colleges, regulatory authorities, and national and international development organizations unanimously appreciated the value of work contributed by healthcare professionals and agreed to have more precise information on working conditions of nurses and healthcare workers for improvement.
A National Seminar was organized to commemorate this important day and highlight recent research and initiatives for promoting decent work for healthcare workers in Pakistan under ILO-WHO joint project, ‘Working for Health (W4H)’. The project has undertaken groundbreaking studies to identify decent work deficits for nursing personnel in line with ILO Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) and a gender in health (Women in Health Leadership). The project is also supporting three hospitals in Islamabad-Rawalpindi to improve working conditions for healthcare workers and nurses in line with ILO-WHO global management tool titled, ‘HealthWISE’.
The seminar was attended by stakeholders from across the country representing the ILO tripartite constituents: Government, Employers and Workers representatives. Members of academia, development partners and partner UN agencies also participated. The audience included nursing personnel and health care workers and ILO experts from SECTOR, Geneva.
Mr Ishrat Ali, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and HRD, inaugurated the opening session. Mr Ali, spoke about the importance of education on workers’ rights, skills development, and a qualifications framework that would harness the job creation potential of a sector that employs a large number of women, both in Pakistan and internationally.
Mr Mahandra Naidoo, Officer-in-charge, ILO-Pakistan, welcomed the participants to the event and spoke about the need for a network of like-minded institutions to enhance research and advocacy for addressing decent work challenges faced by nursing workforce.
Dr Shabnam Sarfaraz, Member Social Sector, Planning Commission of Pakistan, apprised the audience of the major initiatives by the Government of Pakistan with regards to policy reforms, data collection and capacity building that will contribute to improving and strengthening the nursing sector. She also spoke about the multidimensional impact of the health sector and the role of nurses on achieving and accelerating progress on a number of SDGs, including poverty, health, gender, zero hunger and decent work.
Dr Baqar Jafri, of the WHO, spoke about the role of WHO in helping national institutions to improving quality and delivery of healthcare services.
The seminar also featured a video message from the President of the International Council of Nurses (ICN), and technical presentations by the ILO and WHO on their respective roles under the ‘Working for Health’ Programme.
The panel discussion and the findings of the studies undertaken by the ILO, on gender analysis of the sector and the gap analysis on ILO Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149), laid the foundation for a rich discussion among participants on the need for gender parity in the health sector; providing an enabling environment that is respectful, safe and promotes principles of International Labour Standards as highlighted also in the Convention 149 and other Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, including freedom of association. The need to engage further with relevant stakeholders, as well as inclusion of nursing personnel in policy making, capacity building and counseling came out as strong recommendations. Representatives of the Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP) and Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) extended their full support and commitment in leveraging their members and affiliates to provide awareness, access, and outreach and to collaborate on capacity building initiatives with sector specific stakeholders. There was a unanimous agreement that improving the working conditions for nurses and strengthening the sector is not a cost but an investment that has both social and economic benefits.
To take forward the learnings from the ILO-WHO collaboration and furthering the dialogue on the need to improve working conditions of nurses and health staff, participants agreed to form an informal network that will be used to share knowledge, good practices and information on training opportunities.
About the International Nurses Day:
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has announced the new theme for International Nurses Day (IND) 2022: Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in nursing and respect rights to secure global health, focusing on the need to protect, support and invest in the nursing profession to strengthen health systems around the world. Each year, ICN leads the celebrations on International Nurses Day, held on 12 May, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.
A National Seminar was organized to commemorate this important day and highlight recent research and initiatives for promoting decent work for healthcare workers in Pakistan under ILO-WHO joint project, ‘Working for Health (W4H)’. The project has undertaken groundbreaking studies to identify decent work deficits for nursing personnel in line with ILO Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) and a gender in health (Women in Health Leadership). The project is also supporting three hospitals in Islamabad-Rawalpindi to improve working conditions for healthcare workers and nurses in line with ILO-WHO global management tool titled, ‘HealthWISE’.
The seminar was attended by stakeholders from across the country representing the ILO tripartite constituents: Government, Employers and Workers representatives. Members of academia, development partners and partner UN agencies also participated. The audience included nursing personnel and health care workers and ILO experts from SECTOR, Geneva.
Mr Ishrat Ali, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and HRD, inaugurated the opening session. Mr Ali, spoke about the importance of education on workers’ rights, skills development, and a qualifications framework that would harness the job creation potential of a sector that employs a large number of women, both in Pakistan and internationally.
Mr Mahandra Naidoo, Officer-in-charge, ILO-Pakistan, welcomed the participants to the event and spoke about the need for a network of like-minded institutions to enhance research and advocacy for addressing decent work challenges faced by nursing workforce.
Dr Shabnam Sarfaraz, Member Social Sector, Planning Commission of Pakistan, apprised the audience of the major initiatives by the Government of Pakistan with regards to policy reforms, data collection and capacity building that will contribute to improving and strengthening the nursing sector. She also spoke about the multidimensional impact of the health sector and the role of nurses on achieving and accelerating progress on a number of SDGs, including poverty, health, gender, zero hunger and decent work.
Dr Baqar Jafri, of the WHO, spoke about the role of WHO in helping national institutions to improving quality and delivery of healthcare services.
The seminar also featured a video message from the President of the International Council of Nurses (ICN), and technical presentations by the ILO and WHO on their respective roles under the ‘Working for Health’ Programme.
The panel discussion and the findings of the studies undertaken by the ILO, on gender analysis of the sector and the gap analysis on ILO Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149), laid the foundation for a rich discussion among participants on the need for gender parity in the health sector; providing an enabling environment that is respectful, safe and promotes principles of International Labour Standards as highlighted also in the Convention 149 and other Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, including freedom of association. The need to engage further with relevant stakeholders, as well as inclusion of nursing personnel in policy making, capacity building and counseling came out as strong recommendations. Representatives of the Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP) and Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) extended their full support and commitment in leveraging their members and affiliates to provide awareness, access, and outreach and to collaborate on capacity building initiatives with sector specific stakeholders. There was a unanimous agreement that improving the working conditions for nurses and strengthening the sector is not a cost but an investment that has both social and economic benefits.
To take forward the learnings from the ILO-WHO collaboration and furthering the dialogue on the need to improve working conditions of nurses and health staff, participants agreed to form an informal network that will be used to share knowledge, good practices and information on training opportunities.
About the International Nurses Day:
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has announced the new theme for International Nurses Day (IND) 2022: Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in nursing and respect rights to secure global health, focusing on the need to protect, support and invest in the nursing profession to strengthen health systems around the world. Each year, ICN leads the celebrations on International Nurses Day, held on 12 May, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.