The Regional Committee,
Having considered the report of the Regional Director for the period July 1985 to June 1987 and, in particular, the review of nursing;*
Recalling resolution WPR/RC33.R14, and resolution WHA30.48, which , inter alia, recommended that Member States should undertake a comprehensive review of the roles and functions of the different types of personnel, including nursing/midwifery personnel, within the context of national health programmes in order to redefine and restructure them to meet, in an interdisciplinary approach, the needs of communities for primary health care;
Recognizing the contribution of nursing to primary health care and to the health services in general;
Remembering the Declaration of Tokyo, which calls for new strategies to educate health and medical manpower in the twenty-first century and affirms the reorientation of health services towards primary health care;
- URGES Member States:
- (1) to give priority to strengthening nursing/midwifery personnel planning by undertaking a review of the roles and functions of each category within the national health manpower plan;
- (2) to intensify training, retraining and continuing education programmes for nursing/midwifery personnel;
- REQUESTS the Regional Director to continue to cooperate with Member States in their efforts to strengthen nursing and midwifery services, with special emphasis on manpower planning and training.