PHILADELPHIA, May 15, 2025 – TruMerit™ (formerly CGFNS International) welcomed the release this week of the World Health Organization’s State of the World’s Nursing Report, which provides the first comprehensive assessment of global nursing since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report highlights a critical imperative to strengthen global nursing capacity in the wake of the pandemic and amid economic uncertainty, climate change impacts, and persistent health inequities. It warns that the global health workforce shortage will continue to widen, reaching 11 million by 2030, thereby requiring a fundamental shift in how countries approach healthcare workforce planning and investment.
While emphasizing the urgent need to address this challenge, TruMerit President and CEO Dr. Peter Preziosi, who served on the WHO steering committee that helped guide the report’s preparation, pointed to opportunities to leverage the power of nursing to resolve inequities and shore up healthcare delivery and quality around the world.
“In response to this report, non-governmental organizations in the healthcare sector must adopt collaboration as their watchword and work with each other and with professional societies and patient-centered organizations in pursuing genuine social impact,” said Preziosi. “We need to support next-generation approaches that recognize the critical role of nurses—who make up the largest segment of the global healthcare workforce—in advancing primary care, resilient health systems, and universal health coverage solutions to optimize population health in every country.”
“As the report points out, nearly 80% of the world’s nurses are working in countries that cover only half the world’s population. This is a critical imbalance in the global nursing workforce that must be addressed. We can help do that with a greater focus on scaling up high-quality nursing education and career development that expands across borders to enable nurses everywhere to deliver on their potential,” he added.
Preziosi also noted these opportunities highlighted in the report:
- Progress in the expansion of nurse-led care models, with more than 60% of countries now having introduced Advanced Practice Nursing. By enhancing localized, specialized care, these models are proven to deliver cost-effective care and offer a way forward in expanding health coverage and healthcare equity.
- The nursing profession globally is becoming more skilled and prepared, with 80% of the world’s nurses now at the “professional” level. The challenge ahead, said Preziosi, is to ensure they have opportunities to work at the full extent of their education, which requires regulatory frameworks to be strengthened and modernized to reflect updated scopes of practice and relevant continuing professional development.
- The wider use of digital health tools is bringing expert consultations to remote areas, including those powered by telehealth and artificial intelligence. These are showing great promise in enhancing accessibility and bridging gaps in care delivery, invigorating nursing education, and improving efficiency, accessibility, and outcomes.
Seizing on these and other opportunities highlighted in the report, Preziosi expressed optimism that the grave challenges posed by the nursing shortage and other factors can be addressed.
“When the people who deliver the care are empowered with the knowledge, tools, and inspiration to achieve excellence in their profession, they can lead the way to resolving the healthcare challenges of today and tomorrow,” he said.
Click here to access the WHO State of the World’s Nursing report.
About TruMerit
TruMerit is a worldwide leader in healthcare workforce development. Formerly known as CGFNS International, the organization has a nearly 50-year history supporting the career mobility of nurses and other healthcare workers—and those who license and hire them—by validating their education, skills, and experience as they seek authorization to practice in the United States and other countries. As TruMerit, this mission has been expanded to building workforce capacity that meets the needs of people in a rapidly evolving global health landscape. Through its Global Health Workforce Development Institute, the organization is advancing evidence-based research, thought leadership, and advocacy in support of healthcare workforce development solutions, including globally recognized practice standards and certifications that will enhance career pathways for healthcare workers.