PAHO warns of dramatic decline in nursing graduates

May 13, 2025 News

Kaieteur News- Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, has warned countries of the Americas that more must be done to train and retain nurses.

The call follows the release of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) State of the World’s Nursing Report 2025, which shows that the number of nursing graduates has declined from 81 nurses per 10,000 population in 2018 to just 24 per 10,000 in 2023.

This dramatic decline presents a significant threat to the sustainability of the profession in the Region, where 40% of countries already have less than the WHO-recommended 30 nurses per 10,000 population, with a projected shortage of 200,000 nurses for the Region of the Americas.

There are currently 7.4 million nursing professionals in the Americas, which make up 63% of the Region’s total health workforce. “Nurses are a fundamental pillar of health systems and services,” said the PAHO Director in a message for International Nurses Day. “They make up the majority of the health workforce and are key to interprofessional health teams.”

The report shows a persisting pattern of inequity in the availability, distribution, educational capacity and working conditions of nurses in the Region. Issues such as inadequate working conditions, including the lack of specific policies regarding the working hours of nursing staff, poor job security, and the absence of mental health and well-being programs, not only affects the retention and quality of professionals, but also impacts patient care and outcomes, health system functioning, and access.

To address this, the report recommends that countries ensure long-term investment in nursing to support the scale-up of nursing education, and to ensure workforce protection and improve working conditions. “Investing in adequate working conditions, through policies and programs that ensure the well-being and mental health of nursing personnel, is crucial for their retention,” said Dr. Barbosa. “It is also necessary to recognize the value of the profession to make it more attractive to young people.”

Ensuring that nurses are included in the development and implementation of health policies is also key to advancing regulatory frameworks, education and working conditions. “Together, we can build a sustainable nursing workforce for our Region. To all the nurses: thank you for your work and commitment to the health of our communities,” concluded the PAHO Director.

PAHO continues to work with countries of the Region in the development of policies and plans on health workforce training and retention. The Organization also builds capacity of the regional health workforce through the Virtual Campus for Public Health, and works with countries on developing faculty competencies and strengthening education by standardizing curricula.

International Nursing Day

International Nursing Day is celebrated around the world every May 12th, the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, considered the pioneer of modern nursing. To commemorate the day, PAHO will hold a webinar on May 13th: Nursing in the Americas: evidence and strategies for a sustainable workforce. This aims to bring countries together to engage in discussions on the use of evidence and information on strategic actions to strengthen nursing and ensure a sustainable workforce for the Region of the Americas.

The webinar is based on the strategic guidelines contained in the PAHO Policy on the Health Workforce 2030: Strengthening Human Resources for Health to Achieve Resilient Health Systems.

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