THE NEED TO INVEST IN NURSING: LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PANDEMIC

Human Resources in Health have gained visibility and prominence due to their importance and contributions to maintaining the health of the population, ensuring that countries achieve access to health and universal health coverage, the Sustainable Development Goals and more recently in 2020, to cope with the pandemic.
For this reason, to value the essential role that health workers have played in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2021 as the International Year of Health and Care Workers.
In the Region of the Americas, there are approximately 9 million nursing professionals, who represent more than 56% of the health workforce.
Around the world, the International Nurses Day is celebrated on 12 May, the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) celebrates this day in recognition of these professionals, who are fundamental in health systems and in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.