Meeting of Government Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers, WHO collaborating centres and the European Forum of National Nursing and Midwifery Associations in the WHO European Region, Athens, Greece, 3–4 October 2018

The overarching theme of the Meeting of Government Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers (GCNMOs), WHO collaborating centres and the European Forum of National Nursing and Midwifery Associations in the WHO European Region was to review, discuss and accelerate progress in strengthening nursing and midwifery towards achieving the population health objectives of Health 2020. Participants from more than 40 Member States attended the meeting and provided an update on the progress in implementing the European strategic directions for strengthening nursing and midwifery towards Health 2020 goals (ESDNM). The participants contributed to technical sessions oriented around three key themes “include, invest and innovate”, themes developed for the 10th anniversary conference of the Tallinn Charter: Health Systems for Health and Wealth. The participants attended working groups on “action to accelerate progress”, sharing lessons learned in implementing the ESDNM and identifying opportunities to advance progress. A key point was the importance of strengthening national leadership and advocating for the role of GCNMOs in all governments.