Strengthening nursing and midwifery

WHO/Europe is an important player in global efforts to achieve the health-related Millennium Development Goals. As requested by health ministers from all parts of the European Region, WHO/Europe provides strategic support for the key objective of strengthening nursing and midwifery by:

• regularly meeting with government chief nurse or midwife officers to discuss how to strengthen roles and functions for nurses and midwives and develop strategies for implementation of the Munich Declaration at national level;
• working closely with the European Forum for National Nursing and Midwifery Associations (EFNNMA) to assist nurses and midwives to have WHO recommendations incorporated into national policy and practice;
• developing guidelines for basic, higher and continuing nursing and midwifery education, such as a curriculum for the family health nurse, which has been pilot-tested in various educational institutions in Europe;
• providing technical guidance to individual Member States, focusing on improving workforce capacity and education, the quality of care, and health-related regulations and legislation.