As conflicts continue to devastate communities in Ukraine, the Middle East and other regions, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has renewed its call for nurses worldwide to stand together in support of peace through its global #NursesforPeace campaign.
The initiative invites nurses, healthcare teams and National Nursing Associations to publicly show their solidarity with colleagues working in conflict zones by sharing photographs carrying the campaign’s #NursesforPeace message.
The campaign comes at a time when attacks on healthcare, the displacement of populations and growing humanitarian crises are placing unprecedented pressure on health systems and the nurses working within them. From treating people injured in conflict to caring for displaced families and maintaining essential health services under extreme conditions, nurses continue to play a critical role in protecting health in some of the world’s most challenging environments.
ICN says the response to the campaign has already been encouraging, with nurses and nursing organisations from around the world contributing photographs in a visible demonstration of global solidarity. The organisation is now encouraging even broader participation to reinforce the message that nurses working in conflict settings are supported by colleagues across the international nursing community.
ICN Board Member for the Eastern Mediterranean Region Dr Myrna Abi Abdallah Doumit said nurses working in areas affected by conflict witness the human consequences of war every day.
“Across regions affected by conflict, nurses are not only responding to suffering, they are witnessing firsthand the human cost of violence. From the Middle East to Ukraine and beyond, nurses are raising their voices together to say that health requires peace. This global action is a powerful message that nurses everywhere stand united, not only in care, but in calling for an end to conflict.”
ICN Chief Executive Officer Howard Catton said nurses occupy a unique position as both caregivers and advocates for peace.
“Nurses are there at the most difficult moments, treating the injured, supporting families, and holding health systems together when everything else is breaking down. They see the consequences of conflict every day. That is why nurses around the world are standing up and speaking out for peace. Through #NursesforPeace, we are turning solidarity into a visible, global movement and sending a clear message that protecting health means choosing peace.”
The renewed campaign builds on ICN’s longstanding advocacy for the protection of healthcare workers and health services during armed conflict. It also coincides with increasing international concern over attacks on healthcare facilities and personnel, with organisations including the World Health Organization continuing to document assaults on hospitals, ambulances and health workers in conflict-affected regions.
ICN said the campaign is intended not only to express solidarity but also to remind nurses working in humanitarian emergencies that they are part of a global profession committed to supporting them through advocacy, visibility and collective action.
Nurses, healthcare teams and organisations wishing to participate can submit a group photograph to ICN, which will add the campaign’s #NursesforPeace banner before sharing the images across its digital platforms. The collection of photographs will be shared with nurses working in crisis settings as a visible reminder that they are not facing these challenges alone.
As humanitarian crises continue to unfold around the world, ICN says the campaign reinforces a message that has become increasingly urgent: there can be no health without peace, and no peace without protecting those who deliver care.
To join the global call:
Take a photo of your team or organisation
Send it to [email protected]
They will add the #NursesforPeace banner to your photo and share it across their digital platforms.
Together, these messages will form a powerful global display of support, shared with nurses working in crisis settings as a reminder that the world’s nursing community stands with them.
