The theme of World Diabetes Day 2020 is The Nurse and Diabetes. The campaign aims to raise awareness around the crucial role that nurses play in supporting people living with diabetes.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO)*:
- Nurses accounts for 59% of health professionals
- The global nursing workforce is 27.9 million, of which 19.3 million are professional nurses
- The global shortage of nurses in 2018 was 5.9 million. 89% of that shortage is concentrated in low- and middle-income countries
The number of nurses trained and employed needs to grow by 8% a year to overcome alarming shortfalls in the profession by 2030.
WHO estimates that the total investment required to achieve the targets outlined in the Social Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 stand at 3.9 trillion USD – 40% of which should be dedicated to remunerating the health workforce.
Investing in the health workforce also has the capacity to impact other SDGs on eradicating poverty, ensuring inclusive and equitable education, achieving gender equality through the employment and empowerment of women, and promoting decent work and sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
IDF is speaking to policy-makers and nurses directly about the steps that can be taken to ensure health professionals are best prepared to support people living with diabetes in their communities – through better education and funding.
