By: Rosemary Stephen PMed, (cert) EOH, IPM, Elements: Environmental Health Intelligence
Welcome to the International Year of the Nurse (IYNurse). One hundred years ago, Florence Nightingale (1820 – 1910), who created the nursing profession we know today, died. Her legacy is in the form of 15 million nurses currently working throughout the world.
Now the United Nations is asking nurses to expand the scope of their profession. They are asking nurses to become involved in UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), focusing on solving local problems in order to achieve a global impact.
The MDGs include eight international goals with an achievement date of 2015 [1, 2].
They are:
- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
- Achieve universal primary education.
- Promote gender equality and empower women.
- Reduce child mortality.
- Improve maternal health.
- Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and all communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
- Ensure environmental sustainability.
- Create a global partnership for development. [3]
I logged on the 2010 International Year of the Nurse web site and found that it offers readers access to information about what nurses around the world are doing for their communities [4]. I am sure you will enjoy reading these pages as much as I did.
References
[1 Novak, D. Opinion: Think Globally, Act Locally (08 Mar 2010) Nurse.com.(On-line) Available: http://news.nurse.com/article/20100308/PA02/103080093. Cited 2010 Mar 09.
[2] A collaborative, grassroots, global initiative honoring nurses’ voices, values and wisdom — to act as catalysts for achieving a healthy world (2010) 2010 International year of the Nurse. (On-line) Available: http://www.2010iynurse.net/. Cited 2010 Mar 09.
[3] UN Millennium Development Goals (2010) 2010 International year of the Nurse. (On-line) Available: http://www.2010iynurse.net/UNMillenium_Goals.aspx. Cited 2010 Mar 09.
[4] Nurses stories, poems or other tributes (2010) 2010 International year of the Nurse. (On-line) Available: http://www.2010iynurse.net/Nurse_Stories.aspx. Cited 2010 Mar 09.
