World Health Day was established by the World Health Organization to raise awareness of critical global health issues and drive action to address them. This year’s World Health Day theme is Global Action for Universal Health, promoting equitable access to high-quality health care and a commitment to universal health coverage. Achieving universal health care is a key target for meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3, to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages. Improvements to health service coverage have stagnated since 2015, with approximately 4.5 billion people worldwide not fully covered by essential health services. Enhancing and expanding delivery of these services requires healthcare workers with an optimal skills mix working at all levels of the healthcare system (WHO, 2023).
Closing disparities in health equity, access, and service quality requires a global effort. As the backbone of healthcare systems worldwide, nurses are uniquely positioned to address these inequalities The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) recognises and promotes the essential role of nurses in addressing inequity and promoting the health and wellbeing of the community. The objectives of World Health Day 2025 are to advocate for universal health coverage, promote health equity, encourage healthy behaviours, and strengthen health systems.
Advocating for universal health coverage: Nurses as key drivers of access
Universal health coverage ensures that everyone can access essential healthcare services without financial strain. Nurses play a crucial role in achieving this goal through direct patient care, advocacy, education, and workforce development. In its 2025-26 Pre-Budget Submission, ACN has called for a range of solutions to strengthen and empower the Australian nursing workforce to meet the healthcare needs of the country’s growing and ageing population.
Nurses enhance healthcare access, particularly in rural and underserved areas, where they are often the most qualified health professionals available. They can alleviate hospital pressures by managing chronic illnesses, providing preventive care, and educating patients. Telehealth and community outreach further extend access, especially for marginalised groups. Beyond direct care, nurses can drive health reforms by lobbying, participating in professional associations, and sharing patient stories to influence health reforms. Engaging in outreach initiatives, evidence-based practice, and health research contributes to enhancing global health initiatives.
Bridging gaps in health equity through nursing leadership
Nurses are crucial in tackling health inequities by addressing socioeconomic factors that impact wellbeing, with nurse-led models of care a shift in how health care is traditionally delivered. (ACN, 2024). Social determinants of health, such as education, housing, political and environmental factors, contribute to local, regional, and global health disparities and inequities. Ensuring nurses have opportunities to develop their knowledge of the social determinants of health and their impact on access to care and outcomes is essential at all levels. Undergraduate nursing programs provide the first opportunity to embed these concepts into practice.
Empowering communities: The role of nurses in encouraging healthy behaviours
Education is crucial for enhancing health literacy, helping people understand their health conditions and empowering them to advocate for their own care. Promoting preventive care, including proper nutrition, regular exercise, and wellbeing, fosters long-term health. Nurses also strengthen public health efforts through immunisation and maternal health programs, educating communities on disease prevention, healthcare rights, and chronic disease management.
Building resilient health systems: Strengthening the nursing workforce
Resilient health systems are essential to meeting global health challenges and emergencies. Developing these systems ensures that countries can adapt and respond to evolving public health threats. While global pandemics and disease outbreaks such as COVID-19, Ebola, and Zika virus create acute public health emergencies, there are also significant ongoing challenges—climate change, urbanisation, ageing populations, and the burden of non-communicable diseases—that threaten the resilience of health systems worldwide.
Building a resilient health system starts with strengthening the healthcare workforce. Achieving universal health coverage and ensuring access to quality essential health services for all requires urgent action to close the projected shortfall of 18 million health workers by 2030 (Newman et al., 2019), primarily in low- and middle-income countries. According to the World Health Organization, nurses and midwives account for 50% of this shortage, making it crucial to remove barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential and working to their full scope of practice.
Breaking barriers: Addressing workforce challenges to maximise nursing’s impact
Ensuring equitable pay, continuous training, and access to mental health resources strengthens workforce resilience and retention while advocating for better resourcing ensures high-quality care. Promoting gender equality and increasing the representation of women, particularly nurses, at all levels—including leadership and key decision-making roles—is essential. Structured mentorship frameworks and leadership programs can empower nurses to drive innovation and strengthen workforce retention. ACN’s leadership programs support nurses at every stage of their careers, from early career nurses in the Emerging Nurse Leader Program to senior leaders in the Nurse Director and Nurse Executive Leadership Programs.
Additionally, addressing bias and discrimination in health care requires confronting implicit biases and ensuring fair treatment for all, particularly marginalised groups, to create a more inclusive and equitable healthcare system.
Conclusion
Bold action to strengthen the nursing profession globally is crucial for achieving universal health coverage, as emphasised in the Triple Impact Report (Zuzelo, 2019). The report highlights key challenges related to the status, visibility, and leadership of nurses. Too often, nurses face:
- Restrictions that prevent them from working to their full potential.
- Subordination under the sole authority of medical professionals.
- A lack of recognition for their clinical and broader contributions.
- Limited opportunities to assume leadership roles and influence policy.
- Insufficient access to professional development and training.
- Barriers to effectively communicating their knowledge and expertise.
Addressing these challenges is essential to empowering nurses and maximising their impact on global health care.
With thanks to the ACN Global Nursing Faculty
This article was developed by the Leadership Team of ACN’s Global Nursing Faculty, whose expertise and dedication support the role of nurses in strengthening health systems and advancing global health.
Chair: Dr Caroline Browne MACN
Deputy Chair: Dr Ylona Chun Tie MACN
Leadership Support:
- Mrs Mihirika Pincha Baduge MACN
- Mr Andionie Rapiz MACN
- Mr Jay Balante MACN
We thank them for their contributions to this important discussion on workforce resilience, healthcare equity, and the critical role of nurses in global health.
ACN’s Global Nursing Faculty provides a platform for discussion, networking, and support for ACN Members and Fellows with an interest in global nursing affairs. This Faculty connects nurses who have international experience or a passion for global health, including those who:
- Trained and worked overseas before moving to Australia
- Were trained in Australia but are currently working overseas
- Previously worked overseas and are now working in Australia
- Are involved in educational programs related to integration, multicultural issues, bridging programs, or student overseas placements
- Conduct research or engage in international nursing policy.
Joining a Faculty is an exclusive benefit of ACN membership, offering access to a dynamic community of nurses shaping the future of the profession.
Not an ACN member yet? Become part of Australia’s peak professional nursing association to access this benefit and many more. Join today by completing the online membership form.
References
Australian College of Nursing. (2024). The Nursing Response to the Climate Emergency [White Paper]. Australian College of Nursing.
Newman, C., Stilwell, B., Rick, S., & Peterson, K. (2019) Investing in the Power of Nurse Leadership: What will it Take? IntraHealth International.
World Health Organization. (2023). Universal Health Coverage (UHC). [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/universal-health-coverage-(uhc)
Zuzelo, P.R. (2019). Nursing Now. Holistic Nursing Practice 33, (1) 66-67. http://www.doi.org/10.1097/HNP.0000000000000300
