Nurses key to achieving health equity says president of nurses' association
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Nurses key to achieving health equity says president of nurses' association |
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Contact: Rose Marie Harris
Friday May 13, 2011 - “Closing the Gap: Increasing Access and Equity,” is the theme chosen for the observance of International Nurses Day – May 12. This year’s observance will be an opportunity to focus on the need to close the gap for accessing quality health care for those who are poor or disadvantaged in various ways.
“Despite major achievements in the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals around the world,” says President of the Saint Lucia Nurses Association Alicia Baptiste, “there are still major gaps in the health status and life expectancy between high, middle and low income countries, between men and women, and between rural and urban residents. “The ability to access health services is therefore key to improving the health, well-being and life expectancy of all; achieving this fundamental requirement remains limited by cost, status, proximity, policies, and practices, as well as many other factors.”
Baptiste believes that nurses have an important role in achieving health equity and developing a clear understanding of how the health sector can act to reduce health inequities.
“Our members who toil every day in hospitals and clinics around the country are indeed occupied in pioneering performances.”
Saint Lucian nurses are keen to contribute to policy debates on how the health system is oriented, structured, and managed, and also on broader policy issues which address the social determinants of health. |
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