12/05/2026
NEHAWU STATEMENT ON INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY
Monday May 11, 2026
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] conveys its militant salute to millions of nurses across the world celebrating International Nurses Day which is celebrated annually on the 12th May.
We recognise and appreciate the critical role of nurses as the backbone of our healthcare system and the sterling role they play in promoting health and wellbeing of our people. We take this moment to pay tribute to the gallant nurses across the country, we salute their relentless, combative and brave contribution to the noble cause of saving and preserving the health and lives of our people.
As we observe this day, it is important to highlight the plight of nurses particularly under capitalism and imperialism, and to honour the generations, who have fought against oppression and exploitation. As we celebrate this day, we must acknowledge and recommit ourselves to continue with the struggle of nurses and fight all forms of oppression and the social systems that breeds oppression.
Indeed, nurses are part of a broader movement against capitalism, which sustains itself through the exploitation of the working class. They form a critical component in the struggle against greed and human exploitation. Hence, nurses and the working class as a whole, must unite to fight for its rights, and advance the struggle for a free egalitarian society.
We are observing this year’s International Nurses Day under worsening socio-economic conditions of high unemployment, poverty and inequality confronting our nation. This is as a result of the government implementing neoliberal macroeconomic policies which have destroyed the capacity of the state to deliver social services such as Health.
The health system generally is confronted by a myriad of challenges across, ranging from the poor management of hospitals and clinics, emergency services, forensic pathology, capacity of districts in driving primary health care delivery, inability to account for finances by state-aided hospitals, failure to deploy resources for the speedily implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) to guarantee universal access to health for all citizens of this country.
Despite the enormous challenges facing the public health system in South Africa, nurses continue to keep our hospitals and clinics functional. Every day they carry the health system on their shoulders, often working under difficult conditions and facing the frustration of communities who are suffering because of poor service delivery. Nurses are the backbone of healthcare. They ensure that patients receive treatment, even when there is a shortage of staff, medicines, equipment and other essential resources. They go beyond the call of duty to deliver babies safely, care for the sick, comfort families and save lives. From the moment a child is born until the final moments of life, nurses are there providing compassionate and professional care.
South Africa faces a serious shortage of nurses. The World Health Organization recommends a minimum threshold of about 44.5 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 people to achieve universal health coverage. South Africa remains below what is required in many provinces and facilities, especially in rural and underserved areas. In some public hospitals and clinics, one professional nurse may be forced to care for 30 to 40 patients during a shift, far above safe staffing norms. One of the biggest obstacles facing nurses is government austerity and budget cuts, which have led to frozen posts and worsening staff shortages.
For this reason, the union has adopted the theme for International Nurses Day 2026: “Stop Budget Cuts, Fill Vacancies: Empower Nurses for a Functional NHI”. If we are serious about building a strong and functional National Health Insurance system, we must invest in nurses, fill all vacant posts and provide the resources they need to care for our people.
The World Health Organization advocates that nurses and midwives are key to the achievement of its goal of Universal Health Coverage because they play a critical role in health promotion, disease prevention and the delivery of care in all settings. Furthermore, the WHO advocates for greater investment in the education, employment, service delivery and leadership of nurses which will stimulate economic growth by creating decent jobs for nurses and greater economic participation, and such advancements can accelerate progress towards health equity, gender equality and UHC through a primary healthcare approach and move towards achieving the broader Sustainable Development Agenda.
We reiterate our long-held position as the union that it is imperative for government to invest in the nursing fraternity to address major challenges encountering our healthcare system. This investment would contribute in improving and strengthening the healthcare system ensuring that it provides access to quality health services for all in line with the principles of universal health coverage.
The government must invest in the nursing fraternity through the employment of more nurses in order to have an effective and functional health system that provides qualitative health outcomes for the population as per the vision of HRH Strategy. Equally, in order to achieve a well-developed and sustainable healthcare system it’s crucial to have nurses that are skilled, knowledgeable and have expertise to provide healthcare services. The government must invest on nurses for the realisation of providing quality healthcare services for our people.
Lastly, the union will continue advocating for investment in the nursing fraternity to be at the centre in the reengineering of our primary healthcare system to ensure all citizens have access to proper and quality healthcare.
END
Issued by NEHAWU Secretariat.
