Geneva (ICRC, May 12, 2020) – Nurses and other health care workers on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19 deserve to be recognized and commended for their lifesaving efforts and personal sacrifices amid increased medical risk -- and in some places amid ignoring, harassment and attack.
The International Council of Nurses and the International
Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are jointly celebrating International
Nurses Day today, May 12, to laud nurses around the globe, and in particular
those managing an unprecedented workload by treating patients with COVID-19
while also maintaining other essential health services.
Although many communities have made it a point to thank
medical professionals, in other locations there are worrying reports of
harassment and violence against nurses and other health care personnel linked
to the COVID-19 response, including in public transportation and at health
workers’ own homes.
“Nurses are the world’s life-savers. They are risking their
own health and too often sacrificing time with their family to help those
suffering from COVID-19,” said Robert Mardini, the director-general of the
International Committee of the Red Cross. “It’s heartening to see many
communities praise and thank nurses, but it’s distressing that other nurses face
harassment, stigmatization, and even attack.”
“The safety of health care workers during this pandemic is
crucial for communities to overcome the disease. They not only save people from
COVID-19, they also ensure the continuity of life saving health services to
protect people from accidents and other illnesses,” said Jagan Chapagain,
Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies. “We are concerned that the pandemic is putting pressure on medical
staff and health systems to a breaking point, especially in vulnerable and
fragile settings.”
“Stigmatization
and violence against nurses and other health workers in some countries is
shocking; the only response is zero-tolerance,” said International Council of Nurses President
Annette Kennedy. “The pandemic has seen frontline nurses rightly recognised as
heroes, but they are also ordinary mothers and fathers with their own families
to protect. They deserve to be able to work free from fear, whether because of
a lack of PPE or because of harassment and attack.”
Nurses serving vulnerable communities in poorer areas of the
world are also particularly at risk due to COVID-19. As it turns out, the World
Health Assembly’s designation of 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse
and the Midwife was expecting show of appreciation, Kennedy said.
Personal protective equipment, or PPE, is key to protecting
the health of medical workers and should be prioritized for them. Additionally,
there is an urgent need to ensure that PPE and other medical supplies are
available and accessible in low-resource and conflict countries through
national measures and intergovernmental cooperation.
In the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, where health
care systems are functioning reasonably well, around 10 percent of health care
workers have been infected with COVID-19, a huge number of people that may well
be an underestimation. This percentage could be much higher in places with
healthcare systems already strained by conflict or longstanding lack of
investment.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent and the International Council
of Nurses call on governments to commit to ensuring the protection and safety
of nurses and other health workers, especially in resource-poor, disaster and
conflict settings. It is only by ensuring the health and safety of healthcare
workers that we – collectively and globally – can ensure a competent medical
response in this time of COVID-19. (Edited and Published by Jun Enriquez)
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