The issues were a common thread of speakers at the opening of the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the RNB on Tuesday, 12 August in Barbados, where the spotlight was placed on the anticipated increase in the need for nurses and midwives, and the need for guidance and action to mitigate the impacts of the shortage.

Dr. The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott, Minister of Health and Wellness of Barbados, delivered the feature address in which he lauded the achievements of the Regional Nursing Body over the past 50 years and its unwavering commitment to nursing excellence.

“The RNB now stands at a critical crossroad. You are not only being called upon to sustain the gains of the past, but to lead the transformation of the profession, to shape new models of care, and to prepare our nursing workforce to face complex health challenges ahead, which include, of course, ‘Dr. Google’ and the worrisome effects of climate change,” the Minister said.

He pointed to the “troubling trends” and “growing concerns” about nurse retention and called for courage and collaboration in charting the course ahead.

“Too many of our nurses are leaving for greener pastures, an issue that has become more acute in recent years. Small developing states such as ours simply cannot match the salaries and benefit packages offered by the larger, wealthier nations. As a result, we are facing staffing shortages that increase nurse-to-patient ratios, create longer shifts, which can lead to stress and burnout in some cases, and ultimately can compromise the quality of patient care,” he noted.

In her remarks, Ms. Alison Drayton, Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Social Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, highlighted the “critical shortage of these indispensable health professionals.” She cited the State of the World’s Nursing Report 2025 (SOWN), which pointed out that one in seven nurses globally was practising outside of the country of their birth, underscoring a growing dependence on foreign-born nurses within high-income countries.

“This dynamic poses significant challenges to the development and sustainability of health systems in low- and middle-income countries like those within our Region. Accordingly, it is imperative that the Region substantially increase its investments in the education, recruitment, and retention of nurses and midwives to safeguard the resilience and effectiveness of our health workforce,” the Assistant Secretary-General said.

Ms. Nester Edwards, Chair of the Regional Nursing Body and Chief Nursing Officer of the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Religious Affairs of Grenada, also warned of the consequences if gaps are not filled.

“While they are among the largest, if not the largest, segment of the workforce in our healthcare systems, the Region continues to face a perennial shortage of nurses and midwives with high attrition rates and migration to more developed countries. According to the SOWN 2025 report, we are unlikely to achieve the targets for universal health coverage if the gap in these shortages is not filled,” she said.

She called for redoubled efforts to find effective strategies to recruit and retain nurses and midwives, including those in the diaspora. “Improving working conditions and utilising technological advancements and incentives, including flexible working hours, should be considered when developing these strategies,” she said.

The RNB chair also urged capacity-building of the next generation of nurses and midwives in leadership, policy development, strategic planning, and research.

Agenda items for the three-day meeting include developing an action plan to address the migration and mobility of health workers in the Region, a review of the SOWN 2025, new developments in nursing, and the results of the April 2025 sitting of the Regional Examination for Nurse Registration.

Please read her remarks below:

Ms. Alison Drayton, Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Social Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, on Tuesday made remarks at the opening of the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the Regional Nursing Body (RNB) in Bridgetown, Barbados.

• Dr. The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott, Minister of Health and Wellness of Barbados
• Honourable Davidson Ishmael, Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Wellness of Barbados
• Mr. Wayne Marshall, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Wellness of Barbados
• Chief Nursing Officers
•  Ms Piedad Huerta, Subregional Program Director, Caribbean, Ad Interim, Pan American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation
• Delegates and other special invitees

Good morning and welcome to the Fifty-second Annual General Meeting of the Regional Nursing Body. The work of the Regional Nursing Body remains a critical part of addressing priority issues related to the education, practice, and regulation of nurses and midwives in the Caribbean region.  Your leadership has been pivotal to the harmonisation of the provision of nursing and midwifery services throughout the region and serves to ensure the quality of care they provide. By being here today, you affirm your dedication to the ongoing work needed to tackle vital health challenges and priority concerns throughout the region.

It is important to note that the need for nursing and midwifery professionals is expected to increase, driven by the escalating burden of non-communicable diseases, the rising importance of mental health services, and the persistent challenges posed by both emerging and endemic communicable diseases. This urgency is further amplified by the multifaceted impacts of climate change, shifting geopolitical landscapes, and the demographic pressures of an aging population, all of which collectively heighten the complexity of health service needs across the Region.

However, the Caribbean region continues to face a critical shortage of these categories of indispensable health professionals. In fact, according to the ‘State of the World’s Nursing Report 2025’, one in seven nurses globally were practising outside of the country of their birth, underscoring a growing dependence on foreign-born nurses within high-income countries. This dynamic poses significant challenges to the development and sustainability of health systems in low- and middle-income countries like those within our Region. Accordingly, it is imperative that the region substantially increase its investments in the education, recruitment, and retention of nurses and midwives to safeguard the resilience and effectiveness of our health workforce.

Therefore, we look to the leadership of the Regional Nursing Body to provide the strategic guidance on how the Region can advance and expand the nursing and midwifery professions to support the achievement of universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The Secretariat wishes to express profound thanks to the Government of Barbados for hosting the 52^nd Annual General Meeting of the RNB. We also want to commend the coordinating teams in the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the CARICOM Secretariat for their tireless efforts to make this meeting a reality. Thanks are also extended to the associations, institutions, and development partners, including PAHO/WHO, for their continued support to our Member States. Last but not least, thanks to the Chief Nursing Officers and Nursing Councils of our Member States and Associate Members. Your active participation will be vital for the success of this meeting and instrumental in shaping nursing and midwifery policies and initiatives to advance the nursing profession and improve health outcomes across the region.

I wish you fruitful deliberation throughout the course of this meeting.

Thank you!

“The Regional Nursing Body discussed a number of policies and tools aimed at significantly improving the level of care provided by nurses in the Region. The body continued the work towards completing the revision of the Caribbean Standards for Nursing and Midwifery Education and Practice to ensure that these standards were harmonised throughout the Region and remained consistent with international policies and guidelines. This would ensure that nursing and midwifery professionals were better equipped to serve the population of the Community.”

The Regional Nursing Body (RNB) is on a trajectory to improve health outcomes for the people of the Caribbean Community through harmonising standards, training, and assessment tools for nurses. This was the focus of four days of discussions by stakeholders in the nursing profession, which took place at the CARICOM Secretariat’s Headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana.

Thirty-one (31) policy and clinical management professionals participated in the Fifty-Third Joint Meeting of the Executive and Education Committees and the Twenty-Second Meeting of the Practice Committee of the RNB under the chairmanship of Ms Nester Edwards, Chief Nursing Officer from the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Religious Affairs of Grenada.    

In her address to the meeting, Ms Helen Royer, Director of Human Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, emphasized the unwavering commitment of stakeholders to advancing quality in nursing, underscoring the dedication that is evident in the nursing community:

“The Regional Nursing Body discussed a number of policies and tools aimed at significantly improving the level of care provided by nurses in the Region. The body continued the work towards completing the revision of the Caribbean Standards for Nursing and Midwifery Education and Practice to ensure that these standards were harmonised throughout the Region and remained consistent with international policies and guidelines. This would ensure that nursing and midwifery professionals were better equipped to serve the population of the Community,” stated the Director.

Dr Serena Bender-Pelswijk, Deputy Programme Manager for Health Sector Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, underscored the integral role of these discussions in developing and refining the tools and policies used to advance the nursing profession in the Region.

“Participants are discussing the development of Standards for the education, practice and regulation of the ‘Advanced Practice Nurse’ considering the expansion of the specialties in the nursing profession in response to the evolving needs of the healthcare systems in the Region. In addition, the meeting received a presentation by the World Health Organisation on the Human Resources for Resilient Health Systems Caribbean Roadmap 2025,” added Dr Bender-Pelswijk.

The RNB, as the advisory body on matters related to the education, practice and regulation of nurses and midwives, plays a crucial role in improving nursing and its contribution to health care in the Region. It also provides advisory services to Member States on request and as mandated by the Conference of Ministers responsible for health, ensures that nursing standards are constantly evolving and improving.

The RNB identifies the need for basic, post-basic, and continuing nursing education programmes that align with current trends in nursing and health care in the Region. Among other strategic objectives, it promotes developing, implementing, and evaluating quality assurance programmes in nursing and health care.