12 May 2025, Cairo, Egypt – On International Nurses Day 2025, celebrated on 12 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and United Arab Emirates are hosting the regional launch of the State of the World’s Nursing 2025 report, complementing the global launch.

As we honour the extraordinary contributions and resilience of nurses in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the 2025 report presents the most recent evidence on the global nursing workforce, including education, employment, migration, regulation, working conditions, leadership and more.

“Dear Nurses, You are not just central to our health systems—you are their beating heart, their unwavering soul. Your courage, leadership, and evidence-driven work are not only shaping health policy—they are saving lives, every single day. Now is the time for bold investment, courageous reforms, and political will that matches your dedication. Nurses, you are all my heroes!” says Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al Hussein of Jordan.

Nurses, whose skill set is applicable in almost every health service delivery setting, comprise the largest component of the health workforce in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. But there are persistent and widening inequities in the nursing workforce on the global level, with 78% of nurses serving just 49% of the global population.

The nursing workforce is essential to achieving SDG 3 regarding “Good Health and Wellbeing” by 2030, particularly for universal health coverage and strengthening primary health care. However, progress is off-track, and without targeted action, nursing workforce gaps will persist beyond 2030—especially in the most vulnerable regions.” Says Dr Hanan Balkhy, Regional Director WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region.

While countries in the Region have made progress since 2020, when the first report was published, inequities in nurse distribution, density, education, wages and working conditions persist within and among Member States. After the African Region, the Eastern Mediterranean has the second lowest overall density of nurses (15.5 per 10 000 population), with a huge disparity ranging from 1.2 to 83.7.

Future projections paint a grim picture without sufficient urgent action being taken. The Region will see little to no growth between 2023 and 2030 if no action is taken and is projected to account for 24% of the 4.1 million global shortfall of nurses in 2030 if current trends continue.

The Region also faces multiple conflicts and emergencies. In 2024, 63% (1025) of total attacks on health care occurred in the Eastern Mediterranean, accounting for 79% (749) deaths. The safety of health care workers, the majority of whom are nurses, must be guaranteed.

Urgent investment in the education, employment and retention of nurses is needed. Strengthening health workforce information systems, creating workforce investment plans, addressing gender biases and local disparities in education and the health labour market, using existing tools to assess work environments and leverage digital technologies, are among the key policy recommendations in the report.

The report’s findings will equip policy-makers and planners with data and evidence to support national level policy dialogue and make informed decisions on investments in nursing, ultimately strengthening primary health care systems and advance universal health coverage.

“We urgently need targeted, high-impact, and sustainable investments in jobs, education, leadership, and service delivery. WHO’s Regional Flagship Initiative on Investing in a Resilient Health Workforce is helping to accelerate these efforts. The initiative promotes increased investment in the health workforce, with a strong focus on primary care and essential public health functions” Added Dr Hanan.

WHO’s Regional Flagship Initiative on investing in a resilient health workforce intensifies actions to strengthen the health workforce. The next 5 years will be crucial. Decisive policy measures, robust investments, collaborative strategies and accelerated actions are urgently needed to meet global health commitments by 2030.

Evidence contained in the 2025 report will also help inform the discussions at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly, being held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 19–27 May, at which Member States will decide on extending the Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery 2021–2025 until 2030, as recommended by the 156th Executive Board in February 2025.

Link to the report: https://www.who.int/teams/health-workforce/hrh-nursing-midwifery/