Nurses Day comes amid pandemic

TODAY is International Nurses Day, a day the world pays homage to 21 million nurses across the globe.

Nursing is one of the most critical professions in present-day civilisation.

Originally themed, “The year of the nurse and the midwife”, nurses will not be able to host celebratory commemorations as they form the frontline against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Any other year would have seen a plethora of events and deserved merrymaking, but times we are in are the furthest they can be from normal.

Not only are they saving lives, but they are putting themselves in harm’s way as Covid-19 is highly contagious.

The International Council of Nurses said 260 nurses have died from Covid-19 so far.

Zimbabwe Nurses Association President Enock Dongo said the day comes in a difficult time.

“This is a very important day for us as nurses. It is when we celebrate the important work being done by the nurse.

“It is unfortunate that it comes when nurses form the frontline. We should have showcased what we do, but that has to wait, our immediate concern is serving as many lives as possible,” Dongo said.

He said unlike other diseases where nurses usually have requisite information, Covid-19 is novel in nature and this puts nurses in a difficult situation as they are dealing with a beast they do not fully understand.

The 2020 International Nurses Day commemorations had all the makings of becoming monumental as there is a history attached to them.

It marks 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern-day nursing.

Nurses across the world will have to celebrate their day in the line of duty.