Strengthening nursing and midwifery through global collaboration

On International Nurses Day 2026, the WHO Academy recognizes the vital role of nurses and midwives, and the global networks that support them, in strengthening health systems and advancing universal health coverage (UHC).According to the ‘State of the world’s nursing 2025’ report, the global nursing workforce has grown from 27.9 million in 2018 to 29.8 million in 2023, but wide disparities in the availability of nurses remain across regions and countries – approximately 78% of the world’s nurses are concentrated in countries representing just 49% of the global population. Inequities in the global nursing workforce leave many of the world’s population without access to essential health services, which could threaten progress towards UHC, global health security and the health-related development goals. “Addressing this gap requires more than investment alone. It calls for coordinated action, shared experiences and sustained collaboration across countries and institutions,” said Dr Amelia Latu Afuhaamango Tuipulotu, WHO Chief Nursing Officer. This is where the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres in Nursing and Midwifery plays a critical role. Designated by the WHO Director-General, collaborating centres support WHO programmes at national, regional and global levels, while strengthening research, training and health system capacity. Today, more than 800 collaborating centres across over 80 countries contribute to WHO’s work, including those in the network. “The global network shows what is possible when we connect expertise across borders,” explained Dr Afuhaamango Tuipulotu. “By working together, we can strengthen education, learning, leadership and service delivery, and ensure nurses, midwives and future leaders are equipped to respond to evolving health needs in every community.”As an independent, international network with 45 collaborating centres spanning all six WHO regions, the network fosters collaboration, knowledge exchange and joint action structured around the four pillars of the ‘Global strategic directions for Nursing and Midwifery (SDNM)’: education, jobs, leadership and service delivery.Last year, the release of the ‘State of the world’s nursing 2025’ report saw coordinated mobilizprioation and dissemination across the network. The WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Development at the University of Technology Sydney, as Secretariat of the global network, led dialogues across 13 Pacific islands, supporting the prioritization of issues and efforts to translate findings into policy actions aligned with the SDNM. Similar work has been done by the Caribbean Community Regional Nursing Body to support 17 Caribbean countries in updating their regional strategy in alignment with the SDNM. In Europe, multiple collaborating centres worked together to support the development of a sub-regional SDNM for Central Asian countries.“Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do,” noted Professor Michele Rumsey, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Technology Sydney. “By bringing together centres of excellence within and across regions, we are able to share knowledge, align our efforts and scale solutions to support nurses and midwives around the globe.”Highlighting the value of cooperation, the WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Development at the University of Technology Sydney recently launched the ‘Principles of Partnership framework’, with a unique methodology that weaves together local and regional Pacific knowledge alongside the western model of participatory action research. This framework has been key in strengthening nursing and midwifery education across the Pacific. In 2026, the WHO Office of the Chief Nurse, along with the WHO Health Workforce department, was moved to the WHO Academy in Lyon, France. This ensures that the newly reconfigured Academy is WHO’s global centre of excellence for learning and health workforce strengthening, bridging data, policy and practice across the entire health and care workforce continuum and enabling a more end-to-end approach in support to Member States.“For the WHO Academy, this growing ecosystem of collaboration with the global network is essential,” confirmed Dr Afuhaamango Tuipulotu. “By connecting learning, evidence and practice, the Academy can extend the reach of high-quality training and support continuous development to empower nurses and midwives to save lives.”Keep up to date on the work of the WHO Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres in Nursing and Midwifery through their online LINKS magazine.