12 May 2017: International Nurses Day

International Nurses Day is celebrated annually on 12 May to mark the birthdate of Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was a British nurse and the founder of modern nursing – prominent for her work in conflict zones, tending to wounded soldiers. She is also known as "The Lady with the Lamp" due to working at night. She said, “Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better.”

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) first introduced the annual celebration of Nurses Day on 12 May 1965. An annual national nurse’ week, culminating on this day, was officially declared in America in 1974 and in Canada in 1985.

There are around 20 million nurses in the world. Even so, there is a shortage of nurses.

The 2017 theme for International Nurses Day is Nurses: A Voice to Lead, Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The two-fold purpose of this theme is (1) to make nurses aware of the SDG’s and (2) to bring to the public’s attention the significant contribution nurses already make towards achieving these goals.

The United Nations documented 17 Sustainable Development Goals to be reached by 2030. The aim of these wide-ranging goals is to end poverty, protect the environment, and ensure prosperity for all. Nursing is central to SDG 3: ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all through universal health coverage.  

Nurses have already taken the lead in bringing about positive change from improving nutrition and sanitation in their communities to addressing gender inequalities to combat HIV infection and tuberculosis, especially in creating innovative solutions in hardship locations.

International Nurses Day gives nurses an opportunity to make their voices heard. As part of the International Nurses Day campaign the ICN is also asking nurses to share on indstories@icn.ch their successes, innovations, and stories as inspiration for colleagues across the world.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).