Demand for health care is changing quickly in Europe with a growing number of older people, an increase in chronic conditions, and geographical imbalance with fewer people in rural and remote areas. At the Regional Committee of the WHO European Region in Astana in Kazakhstan in October 2023, the 53 Member States of WHO Euro expressed a recommittment to reorient health systems to the Primary Health Care (PHC) approach to progress more quickly towards health for all/universal health coverage (UHC). European countries are currently undergoing transformation to strengthen primary health care–the cornerstone of achieving health for all.

Nurses and midwives are the largest health professions, work close to patients in the community and provide quality, accessible, affordable care. Nurses and midwives are central to Primary Health Care transformation. But, there is currently a critical shortage of nurses and midwives in Europe—and studies show that the majority of students are not oriented to working in primary care as their first choice of workplace after graduation. Yet, new models of nursing and midwifery lead care may offer new and exciting career oppportunities that may draw nurses and midwives to primary care.

The WHO Euro Roadmap to guide implementation of the Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery identifies four strategic areas to strengthen Nursing and Midwifery: Education, Jobs, Leadership and Service Delivery. This webinar focuses on the future of nursing and midwifery in primary health care in Europe. The WHO Regional Office for Europe Nursing and Midwifery team, the European Forum of National Nurses and Midwives Associations (EFNNMA), the European Federation of Nurses (EFN) and the European Early Career Nurses and Nursing Students Association invite midwives, nurses and policy makers to this webinar focusing on the future of nursing and midwifery in Primary Health Care.

National nurses and midwives associations represent the professions at the policy table with governments and other decision makers at all levels. The purpose of this webinar is to support their advocacy role by providing good examples of new models of nurse and midwifery lead care in the community.