International Nurses Day 2026 to focus on nurse 'empowerment’

This year’s International Nurses Day (IND) will focus on empowering the nursing workforce to help ‘maximise their full-saving impact’, it has been announced.

The International Council of Nurses (ICN), which sets the theme for IND every year, has revealed that this year’s celebration will carry the strapline of: ‘Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives.’

The ICN hopes the message will empower nurses with ‘safe, fair work environments and full nursing practice, influence and leadership’.

José Luis Cobos Serrano, ICN president, said that this year’s message was ‘urgent’ and recognised the ‘intense’ pressure the workforce faces around the world.

He said: ‘Nurses are doing extraordinary work to both save and improve the lives of individuals and entire communities.

‘It also makes clear that nurses need to be fully empowered to make the greatest impact on people’s health.’

Alongside the new theme, a new IND report focused on improving health outcomes and delivering trusted primary care through empowering nurses will be published later this year.

‘Harnessing the power of nurses’

A special report on ‘harnessing the power of nurses’ to improve health outcomes and deliver trusted primary care will be published by the ICN on 12 May to mark IND, which is celebrated on the birthday of Florence Nightingale.

The report will outline the key actions needed to recruit and retain a strong nursing workforce by investing in safe working conditions, fair compensation, and meaningful opportunities for leadership, education, and influence.

Mr Serrando added: ‘My watchword as ICN President is empowerment, and this year’s theme reflects that commitment to ensuring nurses have the authority, resources, and working conditions they need to deliver exceptional care.

‘True empowerment means eliminating the barriers that prevent nurses from using their full knowledge and skills and creating pathways for nurses’ voices to shape the future of care.’

Last year’s IND saw the publication of the World Health Organization (WHO) second State of the World’s Nursing (SOWN) report, which set out the latest data, trends and challenges within nursing across 194 countries.

It highlighted a ‘pattern on inequity’ within nursing across the globe and stated it needed to be ‘urgently addressed’.

The report found ‘persistent and worsening inequities’ within nursing – including in the distribution of nurses, nurse education, wages, working conditions and nurse shortages.

Speaking to Nursing in Practice last year, ICN chief executive Howard Catton said the report highlighted that without ‘immediate action’ to invest in the nursing workforce, it would face a ‘perilous future’.

Previous themes by ICN include the ‘Economic power of care’ in 2024 and ‘Caring for nurses strengthens economies’ in 2025.