Time to act sustainably: Why can't we wait any longer?

OBJECTIVES

to raise reflections on the need for health services and professionals to implement sustainable actions, aiming at their own survival and that of the planet.

METHODS

reflective essay based on international reports regarding the impact of climate change on people's health and the role of institutions in this context.

RESULTS

the article focused on three fundamentals: climate change continues to be a threat to the health and well-being of all beings on Earth; the institutions that should contribute to health are great agents of contamination of the environment and emission of gases that aggravate the greenhouse effect; and there are several benefits for health institutions to act sustainably.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

we cannot wait any longer; we must develop policies and management models aimed at environmentally responsible, economically viable, and socially more collaborative healthcare.

Our future is global: nursing leadership and global health

Global health matters to every nurse everywhere. In this article we outline why. We highlight some important health issues confronting the world today; explore how these issues are being tackled; and consider the implications for nursing. We describe how nurses are making a difference in the challenging contexts, range and complexity of nursing work round the globe, and we conclude with a call to action. Nurses can influence, and become, policy-makers and politicians, and explain to them why the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be reached without strengthening nursing. In this International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, the window of opportunity is open, but it will not stay open for long. Nurses and midwives globally and locally must be ready to jump through it. We ask you to join hands, and join us.