COVID-19 and the Politics of the Year of the Nurse

The paper argues that the 'Year of the Nurse' is contradicted by the severe hardships faced by medical personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies three primary global challenges: a critical shortage and rising cost of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), increasing physical and verbal hostility toward healthcare workers, and the lack of childcare services, which disproportionately affects the female-dominated medical workforce.

• Medical personnel face a global shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and rising costs for these supplies. The WHO estimates a monthly requirement of 89 million masks, 76 million gloves, and 1.6 million protective goggles, noting that a 40% increase in PPE production was necessary.
• Healthcare workers are experiencing global hostility, including physical violence, aggression, and social stigmatization. In Mexico and Australia, staff have avoided wearing uniforms to prevent violence or being spat upon, while in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK, some have faced deliberate coughing or spitting. In Asia, some have been threatened with arrest, and in the US and UK, some have faced restrictions on freedom of speech.
• Childcare access is a significant barrier for medical workers, a problem exacerbated by the fact that women make up 70% of medical professionals worldwide (and 85% of nursing staff in the US). In Japan, some medical personnel have been prohibited from using daycare or schools, forcing some to take leave to care for their children.
• The lack of protection for medical staff has direct consequences for healthcare availability in South Africa, as seen by the closure of Duduza clinic in Gauteng and the halting of new admissions at St. Augustine Hospital in Durban due to COVID-19 infections among staff and patients.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2020). COVID-19 and the Politics of the Year of the Nurse. https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19-and-the-politics-of-the-year-of-the-nurse/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. COVID-19 and the Politics of the Year of the Nurse. 2020. https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19-and-the-politics-of-the-year-of-the-nurse/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=COVID-19 and the Politics of the Year of the Nurse |date=3 June 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19-and-the-politics-of-the-year-of-the-nurse/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2020covid19, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{COVID-19 and the Politics of the Year of the Nurse}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19-and-the-politics-of-the-year-of-the-nurse/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }