International Nurses Day: 12 May 2020

Annually, 12 May is commemorated globally as International Nurses Day. It is the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth date. British nurse Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born in Florence, Italy, and moved to England as a one-year-old with her family. This year marks her 200th anniversary.

International Nurses Day marks the contributions that nurses make to society. The International Council of Nurses has celebrated the day since 1965.

The 2020 theme is: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health.

Currently in 2020, during the Coronavirus pandemic, the celebration is timely and important.

A signboard in Paris to honour the work of front-line medics and support services during the Coronavirus pandemic, where the current number of deaths from COVID-19 is 26,643 in France, 32,065 in the UK, and 81,491 in America, says:

‘Merci. Prenons soin des soignants! Soutenons-les’ – ‘Thank you. Let's take care of the caregivers! Let's support them.’

MARTINA NICOLLS

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), 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).

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