ICN launches new report and survey warning of deepening global nursing crisis but offering solutions

ICN calls for immediate action: “caring for the wellbeing of nurses strengthens economies”

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) today launched a landmark report backed up by a new survey, warning of a deepening crisis in the wellbeing of the global nursing workforce and providing compelling evidence for urgent investment in nurses to improve health outcomes, strengthen economies, and build more resilient societies. ICN says the report and survey launched ahead of International Nurses Day (IND) 12 May, provide concrete evidence of both the depth of the crisis in nursing and the solutions. ICN, the global voice of nursing, says International Nurses Day this year should be both a celebration of nurses but also a rallying cry for action based on the new evidence from the report and survey.

The survey, authored by the Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre, Assessing the Global Sustainability of the Nursing Workforce: A Survey of National Nurses' Association Presidents, collects firsthand reports from 68 NNAs on trends in the stability and sustainability of the nursing workforce between 2021–2024. ICN’s IND2025 report Our Nurses. Our Future. Caring for Nurses Strengthens Economies provides further evidence of the strain many nurses are experiencing due to chronic underinvestment and presents evidence-based solutions for strengthening nurse wellbeing as a path to population health and economic productivity.

ICN’s President, Dr Pamela Cipriano, said:

“The publications we are launching today show that many of the world’s nurses are at breaking point, pushed into burnout and facing enormous physical, mental, and emotional pressures. Unacceptable working conditions, inadequate compensation, and a failure to protect nurses from workplace violence and occupational hazards or provide opportunities to advance and practice at full scope are driving this crisis, which affects not only nurses but the health of entire populations.

‘The current nursing shortage is a global health emergency, and it is only exacerbated by the failure to retain nurses or attract new nurses to the profession as highlighted in these reports. Our survey of NNA Presidents’ is a litmus test for the lived experiences of the world’s nurses, and it reveals concerning trends in workforce sustainability. Almost two thirds of respondents described demands on nurses increasing since 2021, while almost 40% rated their country's capacity to meet healthcare needs as poor or very poor, pointing to widening gaps between supply and demand. Nursing salaries have stagnated, which often means a decrease in real terms when we take inflation into account.

‘The survey results also underscore a failure to protect nurses’ safety. A shocking 86.2% of nurses’ associations reported experiences of violence from patients or the public, yet a third of countries had no policies in place to protect nurses from workplace violence. Our IND report highlights how direct attacks on nurses and healthcare workers in conflict settings have also dramatically increased.

‘This situation is unacceptable and untenable. We must take urgent and decisive action to put nurse wellbeing at the centre of health systems and enable nurses to provide essential care, support thriving populations and economies, and advance Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.”

ICN's CEO, Howard Catton, noted that despite mounting evidence of the nursing workforce crisis , many leaders and decision makers continue to make the wrong choice by prioritizing short-term solutions over the sustainable investments needed to address the root causes of the health workforce emergency.

He commented:

“We are used to nurses safeguarding society from catastrophic health outcomes when disaster strikes, just as airbags deploy to protect us in a collision. But without immediate action to invest in and care for our nursing workforce, we risk a dangerous future where no airbag will inflate, where we won’t have nurses to come to the rescue when we need them most. Recent developments such as US funding cuts to education, health, and international aid only adds to this risk.

‘ICN calls on the world’s leaders to hold firm in their commitment to health priorities and deliver meaningful action by urgently investing in nurses and in health. We have clear evidence that supporting and caring for nurses is not a cost: it is a smart and strategic investment in the health and prosperity of all people, with the total potential value of initiatives to improve nurses' wellbeing is estimated at $100-300 billion based on capturing lost workforce productivity alone.

‘ICN has continually provided concrete roadmaps for policy action and our #IND2025 report includes a new advocacy tool, the new Caring for Nurses Agenda for Sustainable Workforce Well-being, which builds upon our foundational Charter for Change and sets out the interventions needed to protect nurses’ wellbeing and maximize their contributions to health systems and societies.”

ICN's advocacy will continue at the upcoming World Health Assembly, May 27 - June 1, where it will call on WHO member states to extend the Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery. The World Health Organization (WHO)’s State of the World’s Nursing report will be released on International Nurses Day, 12 May.

Dr Cipriano added:

“A strong, well-supported nursing workforce is more critical than ever to address global health challenges and support healthy, productive populations. It is now time for action to move nurses from being invisible to invaluable across all regions.”

As the world’s attention turns to International Nurses Day, it is an important opportunity to celebrate the incredible work being done by nurses but also to raise our voices and advocate to protect nursing and global health. This IND, ICN calls on the world’s leaders to show their appreciation for nurses by taking urgent action to invest in and enable nurses as champions of healthy communities, societies, and economies.”