Nurse & CEO International Council of Nurses, Geneva
Joined March 2011
- Tweets 8,399
- Following 1,398
- Followers 10,299
- Likes 3,834
431 Photos and videos
The Swiss Nurses Association actively campaigned against the proposed Swiss population cap because they know it would increase nursing shortages, which would be bad for population health and increase pressures on the current workforce. bbc.com/news/articles/c20ygjโฆ
2
20% of the worlds #nurses are now in China. Remarkable growth in recent years and more planned. As dull as it is having a funded plan and political support is how itโs done.
๐ICN CEO @HowardCatton joined the Chinese Nursing Association, along with more than 2,000 nurse leaders committed to advancing the profession, to speak on the importance of nursing leadership in addressing current global health priorities, as well as the important work at ICN.
He warmly congratulated the Chinese Nursing Association for its strong support in strengthening nursing leadership. Howard spoke about why empowered nursing leadership is critical to addressing todayโs global health priorities, as well as the important work of the International Council of Nurses.โจ
Thank you to the President and First-Vice President of the CNA and all the nurses in the room for your dedication and energy, together we are shaping the future of global health! ๐ค
4
8
295
Jun 10
Excellent meeting of 27 WHO collaborating centres for #Nursing & #Midwifery strategizing to ensure continued and accelerated support for the professions. Huge thanks to @whoccmichele for your leadership and Mahidol Univ for marvelous hosting. @ICNurses
4
9
475
Hans is 100% right our current workforce have the solutions to meet future health needs but desperately need strengthened and accelerated support. State of the Worlds Nursing and Global Strategy provide evidence and clear policy direction. We now need a Nike moment - just do it!
Jun 5
A well-supported and empowered health workforce is the foundation of health security โ in every country, large or small. And small countries are showing meaningful ways to tackle workforce shortages, including through cooperation and innovation.
Honoured to sign, together with ๐ฑ๐ปHealth Minister Hosams Abu Meri, the outcome statement of the 12th High-level Meeting of the Small Countries Initiative in Riga.
My sincere thanks to Latvia for hosting, and to all Small Countries Initiative Member States for co-creating a statement that speaks not only to small countries, but to the whole WHO European Region.
The statement calls for action that keeps health and care workers at the centre: planning better, supporting their mental health and well-being, using digital tools responsibly, and managing mobility in a way that strengthens health systems.
WHO/Europe will continue supporting small countries as agile innovators in building resilient, sustainable health systems.
3
6
1,342
Howard Catton retweeted
The @BBC has highlighted ICN's urgent warning: nurses on the frontlines in DRC and Uganda fear for their safety due to inadequate PPE to protect them from #Ebola.
๐ฐ Read the full BBC article: bit.ly/3RYQHE7
๐ Read our statement: bit.ly/4uik1TN
ICN calls for urgent access to essential PPE, screening equipment, training, and risk and health insurance coverage.
Protect those who protect the world.
4
3
289
Howard Catton retweeted
๐ฅ Watch ICN CEO @HowardCatton reflect on a powerful week at the World Health Assembly, where ICN played a central role in advancing nursing and global health priorities.
๐ From high-level discussions to key advocacy moments, discover how we contributed to the agenda and why it matters.
๐Read more: bit.ly/4dCtJv5
๐ฐExplore our #WHA79 wrap-up: bit.ly/4feE8hQ
3
10
529
May 31
DRC and Uganda #Nursing Associations reported a serious lack of PPE at the start of the outbreak and have continued to raise concerns in recent days. Latest @ICNurses statement here icn.ch/news/nurses-front-linโฆ
5
6
627
Howard Catton retweeted
๐๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฒ.
๐๐๐โ๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌโ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ reflects on the role nurses play in patient care and why supporting the nursing workforce is essential to safer, more respectful, and more patient-centred healthcare.
๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ :
worldpatientsalliance.org/paโฆ
#PatientsHatsOffToNurses #HeartOfHealthcare #Nurses #PatientSafety #WorldPatientsAlliance
@WHOAFRO
@WHO_Europe
@UN
@UNICEF
@WorldBankGroup
@OECD
@SigmaNursing
@ghc_global
@IHF_FIH
@ISQua
@TheIHI
@PLAN4ZERO
@GlobalFund
@NursingNow2020
@HWALLIANCE
@mentalhealth
@PHealthupdate
@HIMSS
@ICNurses
@HowardCatton
@JHUNursing
@NurseStandard
@AAN_Nursing
@YaleNursing
@AmbCareNursing
@DarlingtonUnion
@ANANursingWorld
1
78
May 30
Important loop hole closed at this years #WHA79 with care workers now also being covered by the global code on recruitment plus member states support proportionate coinvestment. As always words must translate to action so @ICNurses advocacy will continue.
๐ฅ ICN CEO Howard Catton, in an interview with SABC News, highlights a critical issue: that nurses have the right to move for better opportunities, but it is clear that countries not training their own nurses are saving billions of dollars in education costs which are not being paid to the countries they're recruiting from.
That message is highly relevant this week at hashtag#WHA79, where ICN is delivering a strong intervention calling for more ethical international recruitment, including co-investment, amplifying source countriesโ voice, and investing in employment and retention of nurses in source countries. Urgent action is needed to address inequitable nurse migration and recruitment that deepens global inequalities and weakens already fragile systems.
๐Read our hashtag#WHA79 statements: bit.ly/4fq0Mni
๐Explore our key messages: bit.ly/4ul9Qyj
4
5
585
May 28
This is an excellent tool for #nurses, health workers and systems to use to calculate the carbon emissions of medical products, procedures and medicines. By measuring we can better manage the health carbon footprint and make sustainable choices.
๐ ICN CEO @HowardCatton was proud to support the launch of @TheLancet MedZero: Health Data for Climate Action, a new global initiative that allows clinicians and health leaders to access carbon emissions data for thousands of health care products and procedures, from syringes and scalpels to chest X-rays and pharmaceuticals.
The launch, hosted by The Lancet, brought together global partners including the Philippines, University of Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Mรฉdecins Sans Frontiรจres, highlighting the power of collaboration in driving climate-smart health care.
Learn about the Lancet MedZero here: bit.ly/4dzeu65
4
7
414
Howard Catton retweeted
Frontline nurses in DRC and Uganda are facing dangerous PPE shortages as the Ebola outbreak grows. Many are scared for their safety because they lack even the most basic protective equipment.
ICN CEO @HowardCatton warns the world is once again failing the people who protect us. Nurses are delivering extraordinary, lifesaving care, but too often without the masks, face shields and testing kits they need: โIf we fail to protect the nurses risking their lives, we fail everyone.โ
Nurses need immediate access to PPE and support now.
๐ Read the Nursing in Practice full article here: bit.ly/3PICCKq
1
5
9
654
Howard Catton retweeted
ICN President @jlcobosserrano was one of the defining voices of the 12th Canary Islands Nursing Congress and the 14th Nursing Innovation Conference. In his powerful keynote, he shared a clear and inspiring vision for the future of nursing in Spain and globally, highlighting the essential role of innovation, the need for professional empowerment, and the importance of strong, united leadership to meet todayโs challenges. His message set the tone for a congress centred on progress, collaboration, and the continuous improvement of care.
3
5
226
Howard Catton retweeted
In response to the gravely concerning and escalating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, ICN warns that nurses and other frontline health workers are being put at serious risk and left fearful for their safety.
โก๏ธ Read more: bit.ly/3Q2J3rO
1
7
8
519
May 24
Fantastic to hear both the pride and high regard the Minister has for #Filipino #nurses and commitment to support the profession @PNAInc1922 @mypnaa
ICN CEO @HowardCatton was pleased to welcome Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa, Secretary of Health of the Republic of the Philippines, to ICN this week, highlighting the significant contribution Filipino nurses make to healthcare systems around the world.
#WHA79 #OurNursesOurFuture
1
3
8
979
Howard Catton retweeted
The Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO), together with ICN, convened a listening session at ICN headquarters, bringing together more than 25 representatives from health NGOs working within the @UN system, along with ICN CEO @HowardCatton, CoNGO President @PeterPreziosi, and CoNGO Vice-President Cyril Ritchie.
The session explored the creation of a new NGO Committee on Health, with strong support expressed for taking the initiative forward.
#WHA79
2
4
294
Howard Catton retweeted
๐ข At #WHA79, Josephine Agyei, Chair of the ICN Alliance of Student & Early Career Nurses (#SECN) Steering Committee, emphasizes that the global health workforce is a global public good, and that collective action is essential to protect it.
๐ Read our WHA79 statements: bit.ly/4fq0Mni
๐ Explore our key messages: bit.ly/4ul9Qyj
#OurNursesOurFuture
1
3
338
May 22
As global health leaders #WHA79 have again this week been calling for adherence to international humanitarian law @ICNurses has also received new reports of attacks on health facilities in the Middle East and Ukraine. Accountability is essential to stop this escalation.
ICN CEO @HowardCatton underlines the critical role of the health workforce in protecting global health security in times of crisis during #WHA79.
๐ Read more: bit.ly/3RNxBRc
๐ Explore our key messages: bit.ly/4ul9Qyj
#OurNursesOurFuture
5
5
709
Howard Catton retweeted
ICN First Vice-President @SinevaRibeiro delivers a strong message during #WHA79: nursing empowerment is not optional, it is essential to achieving all global health targets by 2030.
๐ Read more: bit.ly/3RNxBRc
๐ Explore our key messages: bit.ly/4ul9Qyj
#OurNursesOurFuture
8
9
275
Howard Catton retweeted
@WHO recorded 579 attacks on health care in Ukraine in 2025, causing deaths and injuries among patients and health workers.
New attacks have continued into 2026, intensifying concern at WHA79.
โ๏ธ@DishaShetty20
@WHOUkraine @MoH_Ukraine @GermanyUNGeneva
healthpolicy-watch.news/russโฆ
2
147