Building the Capacity of Nurses to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Through Knowledge Gateways

Purpose: “The Sustainable Development Goals embody a one-health strategy – healthy people living on a habitable planet.” (Gostin & Friedman, 2015) In an increasingly interconnected world, efforts to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) need to be creative and build the capacity of practitioners and programs so that they are achievable. Globally, nurses comprise the majority of health care workers and therefore are essential to achieve the SDGs, specifically SDG 3: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all the ages”. The Global Alliance for Nursing and Midwifery (GANM) is a joint project sponsored by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Nursing Knowledge, Information Management & Sharing at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. The GANM has over 3,000 members and supports a multitude of communities of practices worldwide that cover health and development topics that aim to build the capacity of nurses and midwives to improve the health of communities across the lifespan.

Methods: One section of the GANM disseminates weekly blogs (written and video) that range in topics from communicable diseases and environmental health to respectful maternity care written by experts from around the world. In 2016 the GANM will implement a series of blogs relating to each target of SDG 3 to engage the online community to share knowledge, expertise and practical experience, which will facilitate the dissemination of best practices and collectively work together to achieve universal health care coverage. These blogs will enable the GANM’s members and the public to: share knowledge, experience and lessons learned from local practices; create a space for discussion with experts and individuals from different countries; ensure that clear definitions of terminology, concepts and policy directives are adopted; and provide capacity building to enable implementation of evidence-based tools, materials and strategies that can improve and scale up effective practices.  The GANM also engages students to achieve global health competencies for future practice placing a priority on improving health and achieving health equity for all people around the world. 

Results: This is an ongoing project, results are forthcoming. 

Conclusion: The GANM and its initiatives are important strategies to reach universal health care goals and the SDGs by building the capacity of nurses and midwives around the world through an interactive knowledge gateway.