RHDC on Nursing and Midwifery (RHDC N&M)

(Bucharest, Romania)

The Regional Health Development Centre on Nursing and Midwifery (RHDC N&M) was officially launched in June 2023, following a unanimous decision by the Member States of the South Eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN) during the Tirana Plenary Meeting.

Hosted by the Order of Nurses, Midwives, and Medical Assistants of Romania (OAMGMAMR) and supported by the Romanian Ministry of Health, the Centre functions as a regional hub for advancing nursing and midwifery leadership, education, practice, and workforce development throughout South-Eastern Europe.

The official launch of the RHDC on Nursing and Midwifery took place in Bucharest, Romania, in the presence of high-level representatives from SEEHN Member States. The event was honored by Mr. Nicolae Ciucă, President of the Romanian Senate, who addressed the participants with a message of strong support. Prominent Romanian officials also joined the opening, including Prof. Diana Loreta Păun, Public Health Adviser to the Presidential Administration, and Prof. Alexandru Rafila, Minister of Health. Messages of support were also conveyed by Dr. Mira Dasic, Director of the SEEHN Secretariat (online), Dr. Margrieta Langins from WHO Europe, and Mr. Howard Catton, CEO of the International Council of Nurses, reaffirming the Centre’s importance as a regional driver for nursing and midwifery leadership.

The RHDC N&M is committed to strengthening the health workforce by promoting evidence-based policies, peer learning, and harmonized data reporting—particularly through alignment with National Health Workforce Accounts (NHWA) and frameworks established by WHO/Europe. It actively addresses cross-border challenges such as workforce shortages, fragmented data ecosystems, and limited institutional capacity by facilitating collaboration and policy coherence at the regional level.

Strategic Vision and Roadmap

In partnership with the SEEHN Secretariat and WHO, the Centre developed a Strategic Roadmap in 2023 to guide its development and operations. The roadmap focuses on four strategic pillars:

• Institutional establishment and regional governance
• Biennial work programmes and collaborative activities
• Resource mobilization and technical partnerships
• Impact evaluation and strategic reporting

This roadmap serves as a framework for advancing a coordinated regional nursing strategy and strengthening the role of nursing and midwifery in health systems governance. It also aligns

with the EUR/RC73/8 Framework for Action on the Health and Care Workforce in the WHO European Region 2023–2030, ensuring synergy with regional health policy priorities. 

Events and Regional Engagement

As part of its early achievements, the RHDC co-organized the Sub-Regional Workshop on Enhancing National Health Workforce Accounts, Reporting, and Data Quality Review, held in Bucharest, Romania, on 29–30 August 2024.

Supported by WHO, the workshop brought together over 40 experts from SEEHN Member States and international stakeholders to discuss common data challenges and explore regional solutions.

Key results from the workshop included:

• A 26% increase in reported nursing workforce data across 11 countries within four months
• Improved consistency with WHO/Eurostat/OECD joint data reporting frameworks
• Greater clarity around shared challenges such as standardization, digitalization, and registry coordination

These outcomes were later presented at the WHO Regional Workshop “Unlocking the Power of Data and Human Resources for Health Information Systems to Support Health and Care Workforce Development in the WHO European Region,” held on 25 March 2025. The RHDC N&M played an active role in the session on National Health Workforce Accounts, offering insights from the SEE region and promoting the regional roadmap as a model for structured workforce development.

As part of its institutional development, the Centre has created its official logo and is actively working on launching a dedicated website and newsletter to improve visibility, share updates, and foster communication across the region and with international partners.

For more information, please contact the SEEHN Secretariat or visit the RHDC’s dedicated page on the OAMGMAMR website.

Contact:

Photo gallery:

1. Tirana SEEHN Plenary June 2023
2. Sub-Regional Workshop on Enhancing National Health Workforce Accounts, Reporting, and Data Quality Review, 23-24 August 2024
3. Official Launch of the RHDC N&M Governance, 23 October 2024
4. WHO Regional Workshop “Unlocking the Power of Data and Human Resources for Health Information Systems to Support Health and Care Workforce Development in the WHO European Region