International Nurses Day is observed on the 12^th of May every year.

The Covid pandemic has changed our perception of the nursing profession. The pandemic has unearthed the vulnerabilities and the loopholes of the healthcare ecosystem, meanwhile highlighting the need for suitable financial and educational investment to empower the nursing profession to secure global health.

As per the WHO norms, India has a scarcity of nurses i.e., 4.30 million nurses are needed by 2024. Adding to the situation is the presence of spurious and falsified drugs, a lack of skilled workforce, etc. During the pandemic, falsified drugs increased by 47% in 23 states out of the total 29 states and UTs.

The increased numbers were accounted for by vaccines, anti-biotics, test kits, sanitizers, and face masks. These numbers brought forward by ASPAs Report showed the crucial role of the nursing staff in defense against the exploitation by people to sell substandard and falsified drugs.

International Nurses Council is running a mass awareness campaign at a global level to fight against falsified medicines, investment for upgrading the profession, etc. However, in India multilevel strategic campaigns, education, policies, etc are required to bring about a positive change. Additionally, nurses should be educated and trained about determining the authenticity of the vaccines and medicine provided by trustworthy and legitimate pharma brands.

The theme for International Nurses Day is fixed as “Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in nursing and respect rights to secure global health”.