Why in news?
- The International Nurses Day 2020 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale.
- This year is also significant as World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it as the ‘Year of the Nurse and the Midwife’.
International Nurses Day
- International Nurses Day is a celebration on the 12th of May every year to commemorate the anniversary of Florence Nightingale.
- Florence Nightingale is considered to be the founder of modern nursing.
- 2020 Theme: Nursing the World to Health – Declared by The International Council of Nurses (ICN)
Significance of the day
- Nurses account for more than half of all the world’s health workers. It will encourage the entire nurse community and the public to celebrate the day as well as would provide necessary information and resources to raise the profile of the nursing profession.
- The COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder of the vital role nurses play. Without nurses and other health workers, it is not possible to win the battle against outbreaks
Florence Nightingale
- Florence Nightingale was a British social reformer, statistician, and the founder of modern nursing.
- She is famously known as “The Lady with the Lamp” making rounds of wounded soldiers at night.
- Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War.
- Much of her published work was concerned with spreading medical knowledge.
What has Indian Government done for Nurses during this Pandemic?
- 50 lakh Rs. insurance cover as part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana for each of the frontline health workers involved in managing the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Recently an ordinance was passed for the protection of healthcare workers battling COVID-19 on the frontline from attacks by miscreants.
- Supreme Court had recently directed the government to ensure the availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), to all health workers.
