OUR BEGINNINGS WERE HUMBLE
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. NIGH's global outreach began with the Nightingale Declaration for a Healthy World - opening with 'We the nurses and concerned citizens of the global community...' . The Declaration recorded over 22,000 online signatures from 106 nations — ever-expanding to over 1.5 million hits in 2012.
NIGH's leaders have participated in Lusaka, Zambia (2008) and Geneva, Switzerland (2009), in WHO ‘Consultation(s) for Strengthening Nursing & Midwifery’ , the 'WHO Global Forum of Chief Nursing & Midwifery Officers' (2014) and for the new ‘Report on Nurses & Midwives in WHO’ in 2015. NIGH representatives have also presented at Civil Society Development Forums directly aligned to UN Economic & Social Councils (ECOSOC) in Geneva (2009) for Global Health and in New York City ( 2010) Gender Equity.
More than ever before, we are all impacted by the health of everyone else around the world. Yet, most critical global health issues are under-reported, under-valued and poorly understood. Although nurses and many others have important knowledge, experience and wisdom, we have yet to effectively share what we know with the general public — with the global community.
Nurses and midwives are the world’s largest healthcare workforce — 80% of healthcare delivery globally. The International Council of Nurses — a federation of national nursing associations from 132 out of 193 UN Member States — counts the numbers of nurses as at least 20 million strong. Nurses are consistently named the most trusted of professionals. What better voices to collectively call for what needs to happen for the sake of health at local, regional and global levels?
We can focus our collective callings — for the sake of 21st century health care and for related social, ecological and human rights issues. While we continue the practices we have already established — we can also be innovative and create new practice arenas. We can model our global advocacy — the fulfillment and satisfaction of being nurses — of bringing health and healing to our world.
Nightingale passed this vision on to us — to remember who we are, what we can do, who we care for and why — and then, to share this vision, as she did, with our world.
NIGH's leaders have participated in Lusaka, Zambia (2008) and Geneva, Switzerland (2009), in WHO ‘Consultation(s) for Strengthening Nursing & Midwifery’ , the 'WHO Global Forum of Chief Nursing & Midwifery Officers' (2014) and for the new ‘Report on Nurses & Midwives in WHO’ in 2015. NIGH representatives have also presented at Civil Society Development Forums directly aligned to UN Economic & Social Councils (ECOSOC) in Geneva (2009) for Global Health and in New York City ( 2010) Gender Equity.
More than ever before, we are all impacted by the health of everyone else around the world. Yet, most critical global health issues are under-reported, under-valued and poorly understood. Although nurses and many others have important knowledge, experience and wisdom, we have yet to effectively share what we know with the general public — with the global community.
Nurses and midwives are the world’s largest healthcare workforce — 80% of healthcare delivery globally. The International Council of Nurses — a federation of national nursing associations from 132 out of 193 UN Member States — counts the numbers of nurses as at least 20 million strong. Nurses are consistently named the most trusted of professionals. What better voices to collectively call for what needs to happen for the sake of health at local, regional and global levels?
We can focus our collective callings — for the sake of 21st century health care and for related social, ecological and human rights issues. While we continue the practices we have already established — we can also be innovative and create new practice arenas. We can model our global advocacy — the fulfillment and satisfaction of being nurses — of bringing health and healing to our world.
Nightingale passed this vision on to us — to remember who we are, what we can do, who we care for and why — and then, to share this vision, as she did, with our world.
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From the beginning to now |
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