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By Tracy Moses
As the world marks 2025 International Nurses Day today, the Acting Regional Director for Africa at the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, has called for urgent and sustained investments in Africa’s nursing workforce.
He warned that chronic underfunding, mass migration, and persistent shortages are threatening the continent’s progress toward universal health coverage.
“Nurses are the backbone of our health systems, vital in everyday care and indispensable during crises,” Dr. Ihekweazu said in a statement commemorating the day.
With nurses making up nearly 70% of Africa’s health workforce, this year’s theme, “Our Nurses, Our Future, Caring for Nurses Strengthens Health Systems and Economies,” serves both as a tribute and a rallying cry for policy change and strategic investment.
The State of the World’s Nursing Report 2025 reveals that while the global nursing workforce has expanded to 29.8 million, nearly 80% of these professionals serve just 49% of the world’s population. Africa has made progress, growing its nursing workforce from 900,000 in 2018 to 1.7 million in 2023, but the continent still lags behind with a nurse-to-population ratio of just 14.1 per 100,000, far below global benchmarks.
Dr. Ihekweazu emphasized that nurses account for 66% of the projected 6.1 million health worker shortfall in Africa by 2030, a gap that is already impacting access to essential services such as maternal, neonatal, and chronic disease care.
Beyond the shortage of personnel, retention poses another urgent challenge. Although 43% of Africa’s nurses are under the age of 35, many face stagnant career growth and a lack of mentorship. Alarmingly, 42% have expressed a desire to emigrate, lured by better opportunities in wealthier countries.
The crisis is further deepened by widespread financial constraints. WHO estimates a 43% funding gap in health workforce financing across the continent. As a result, about one in three health workers, mostly nurses and midwives, are either unemployed or underutilized.
Yet, there is a glimmer of hope. In 2024, African leaders endorsed the Africa Health Workforce Investment Charter, which offers a framework for data-driven, country-specific reforms. Zimbabwe, for example, recently adopted an Investment Compact projected to unlock an additional $166 million annually to strengthen its health workforce.
Drawing from the latest findings, Dr. Ihekweazu outlined key priorities for addressing the crisis. These include expanding nursing education with a focus on digital and clinical training; strengthening regulation while introducing advanced practice roles; improving working conditions and providing mental health support; tackling the 7% gender pay gap in a workforce where women comprise 85%; and elevating nursing leadership by empowering Government Chief Nursing Officers and integrating nurses into decision-making roles.
“Nurses are more than just caregivers, they are educators, innovators, and first responders, often serving in the most remote and fragile settings,” Dr. Ihekweazu stressed.
“As we honor their dedication today, let us match our words with action. Let us invest in their future so they can continue to protect ours.”