EFNNMA Steering Committee meeting: progress and next steps

On 25–26 September 2016, WHO/Europe met with the Steering Committee of the European Forum of National Nursing and Midwifery Associations (EFNNMA) in St Petersburg, Russian Federation. They discussed the progress of implementing the joint work plan aligned with the memorandum of understanding, and planned the 20th annual EFNNMA meeting.

The Regional Office provided members of the Steering Committee with a comprehensive update on human resources for health and nursing and midwifery events at global and regional levels, and the ongoing work of its technical programme on nursing and midwifery.

Agenda for the 20th annual EFNNMA meeting

Meeting participants agreed on a provisional agenda for the 20th annual EFNNMA meeting, to be held jointly with WHO/Europe on 2–3 March 2017 in Berlin, Germany. The agenda items include:

• models of integrated health services;
• new roles of nurses and midwifes;
• nursing and midwifery education in the WHO European Region;
• progress made in implementing the “European strategic directions for strengthening nursing and midwifery towards Health 2020 goals”; and
• the involvement of Steering Committee members at the 66th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe.

Representatives of national nursing and midwifery associations will be able to discuss the recommendations of the United Nations High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth, and to plan further work supporting these recommendations on national level.

WHO and EFNNMA

The collaboration between WHO/Europe and EFNNMA aims to influence the debate on improving the health of European citizens and the quality of health care services in Europe, in line with the vision of the European health policy, Health 2020. The partnership promotes the continuous development of the nursing and midwifery professions in all countries in the Region at all levels of intervention: education, practice, management, research and policy formulation.