How health ministry's draft guidelines may improve nurses' work conditions

India's nursing workforce is about half of its active health workforce, which was estimated at 3.04 million in 2017-18 by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)

In line with the World health Organisation’s (WHO’s) global strategy on “Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030”, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) issued draft guidelines earlier this month to improve the working conditions of all categories of nurses in all healthcare institutions across India. The WHO’s global strategy calls for a safe and healthy work environment for nurses in order to ensure quality nursing care.

The MoHFW draft guidelines are open for comments from the public and other stakeholders on the ministry's website till August 31.

What do the draft guidelines say?

The proposals include provisions of