Their work is indispensable and yet there is a lack of recognition

The World Health Assembly has designated 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife because of the central role midwives and nurses play in providing health services. They are often, the first and only point of care in their communities. Unless radical action is taken now, we will be short of 9 million nurses and midwives who are essential to achieving universal health coverage by 2030. In this MMS Bulletin, we celebrate the nurses and midwives and their tremendous and often underpaid work in their communities.