International Nurses Day is being celebrated today around the world to mark the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. The  International Council of Nurses (ICN) commemorates this important day each year. The theme for this year is “Our Nurses. Our Future. Caring for nurses strengthens economies”. The theme underscores the critical role a healthy nursing workforce plays in strengthening economies, improving health systems, and ensuring better outcomes for communities worldwide.

The President of ICN, Pamela Cipriano, said in her message that every day nurses deliver the care that saves lives, get patients through their most vulnerable moments and transform health systems.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) also extended its greetings to nurses by calling them the heart of health systems worldwide. In a social media post, the WHO said that from emergency response to long-term care, from birth to end-of-life, nurses are everywhere health happens.