With the global health challenges we face as a humanity — including the severe and growing worldwide nursing shortage — we developed the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health — often called NIGH — to remember Florence Nightingale’s keen relevance to today.  Thus, NIGH has become a catalytic, grassroots-to-global movement and community — keeping alive what Nightingale achieved in her time and why.
               NIGH’s cornerstone is the Nightingale Declaration for a Healthy World created to engage and empower nurses and concerned citizens — worldwide. Modeled after the ‘Preamble’ to the United Nations founding Charter with the words, “We the peoples of the United Nations...” this Declaration is the foundational premise of all of NIGH’s activities. It clarifies and commits to our shared goals and shared purposes — to work together as global citizens advocating for a healthy world.

“Our strategies have included: advocacy campaigns to reach UN Global Goals; online global outreach and multi-media; keynote addresses, workshops and related conference briefings,  virtual and onsite discussions and meetings convened in 35 countries.”

Since our founding in 2006 — and through our ongoing grassroots-to-global development — NIGH’s teams are reflecting the voices of nurses, midwives, teachers and inter- disciplinary groups of concerned citizens throughout the world. Our strategies have included: advocacy campaigns to reach UN Global Goals; online global outreach and multi-media; keynote addresses, workshops and related conference briefings, virtual and onsite discussions and meetings convened in 35 countries: plus 38 peer-reviewed journal articles, textbook chapters — and from UN Headquarters in New York and the World Health Organization and other UN organizations in Geneva. See more history here >>>
​                   NIGH’s progress has been achieved through worldwide friendships formed in the sharing of common goals. NIGH's Core Team & Advisors  now include more than 30 volunteer nursing and midwifery leaders, scholars, teachers and citizen activists, as well as experts in global communications strategies . Among these ‘friends’ are those who have worked within the United Nations, its Agencies and related collaborating organizations of civil society.      

First created as ‘NIGH USA’ — a charitable 501 (c )3 Non-Profit Organization (EIN: 201085630) — our worldwide work has been established as ‘NIGH World’  — a Non-Profit Organization (Canada Corporation # 206121-0), based in Canada and Geneva, Switzerland.  In 2018, ‘NIGH World’ was granted the highest-awarded NGO standing with the United Nations — ‘Special Consultative Status’ with the United Nations Economic & Social Council (UN ECOSOC).

“NIGH’s progress has been achieved through worldwide friendships formed in the sharing of common goals.” 

“In the coming months, NIGH teams will be ramping up our worldwide multi-media and online outreach to remember the Nightingale’s legacy and strengthen the voices of grassroots stakeholders across the global arena.”

“NIGH's support derives from private donations, sponsorships, partnerships and with substantial in-kind and pro-bono contributions and volunteering.

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​We are now exploring further support for specific projects from grants and foundations and through upcoming collaborations with schools, universities, multi-media professionals and related stakeholders with similar goals.”

Current Focus
A major focus continues with further development of the above Nightingale Declaration in the six official UN languages — and many more versions, including Swedish, Portuguese, Turkish, Korean and Kiswahili as our first Indigenous version — in collaboration with nursing and public health leaders from across the world.                       
                 Launched during the 2020 Nightingale Bicentenary — and renewed during the COVID pandemic — this updated Nightingale Declaration project is based on our founding credo and aimed toward multi-lingual story-telling advocacy to achieve the UN Sustainable Development 2030 Agenda, and beyond, into the decades ahead.
                  Now — In the coming months — NIGH teams will be ramping up our worldwide multi-media and online outreach to remember the Nightingale’s legacy and strengthen the voices of grassroots stakeholders across the global health arena.
                  NIGH's support derives from private donations, sponsorships, partnerships and with substantial in-kind and pro-bono contributions and volunteering. We are now exploring further support for specific projects from grants and foundations and through upcoming collaborations with schools, universities, multi-media professionals and related stakeholders with similar goals.

Image from NIGH's archives

One of the earliest inspirations for NIGH centred around the iconic Florence Nightingale Stained-Glass Window sited at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.  This is where the first Nightingale Service — commemorating her official designation on the Episcopal Church Calendar — was convened in 2001 with the active participation of NIGH's founders.

Explore How & Why NIGH Began here >>>