Around 12,000 nurses have been
infected with the novel coronavirus in Italy and 39 have died.
High Price.
Always on the front line, the profession has paid a high
price during the COVID emergency in Italy and in other parts of
the world.
International Day.
Their role is celebrated all over the world, and online, on
International Nurses Day on May 12, the 200th anniversary of the
birth in Florence of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern
nursing.
Front Line.
Nurses are "the backbone of every health system and today
many of them are on the front line in the battle against
COVID-19," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health
Organization (WHO) Director-General.
The profession has been the hardest hit during the emergency
with around 12,000 contagions, according to data from FNOPI (the
national federation of nursing professions), including 60% in
Lombardy, 10% in Emilia-Romagna, and 8% in Veneto.
Phase Two
Their role will be fundamentally important also in Phase Two,
which is set to be more focused on regional management of
Sars-Cov-2 cases via the USCA special units of care continuity.
The number of nurses worldwide increased by 4.7 million
between 2013 and 2018, according to the WHO.
Shortfall.
But that still leaves a global shortfall of 5.9 million.
In Italy, nurses are in short supply, above all, in regions
of the south, according to FNOPI.
A Voice to Lead.
The International Nurses Council has chosen the theme
'Nurses: A Voice to Lead Health for All' for 2020, the
International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.
Florence Nightingale.
Despite the lockdown, many initiatives are set to take place
all over the world on May 12 via the Web, with virtual
photography shows, conventions and, at 20:30, the illumination
of Rome's Spallanzani Institute for Infective Diseases, a symbol
of the fight against COVID, laid on by the British embassy to
celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence
Nightingale in 1820.
Musician Paolo Fresu has dedicated a new piece to her,
"Perfetta" (Perfect), which will be presented during a live
Internet broadcast on FNOPI's website and social channels.
This will also see the launch of the #NoiConGliInfermieri
(#WeAreWithTheNurses) fund-raising campaign.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
