On this International Nurses Day, we celebrate the extraordinary nurses who stand at the frontline of care.
Empowered nurses are equipped with the training, tools, and authority to: screen and refer people with TB early; support treatment adherence and care continuity; connect vulnerable populations to life-saving services and lead community education to reduce TB transmission. Nurses are the backbone of the End TB Strategy.
When we invest in nurses – with safe workplaces, fair pay, and meaningful leadership – we invest directly in reaching the 2030 End TB targets.
A global community of practice
Among the most powerful amplifiers of this mission stands The Union Nurses and Allied Professionals Sub-Section (NAPs).
Through NAPs, nurses and allied professionals from across the globe work together to define and strengthen their contributions to TB and lung health, and to coordinate best practices, support learning, and facilitate professional development for nurses.
The NAPs group is comprised of members from many disciplines who work across a spectrum of activities, services, and organisations, with expertise spanning: clinical care, public health management of TB and lung disease, tobacco control, training and education, health promotion, stigma reduction, disease prevention, civil society, research, and ethics. A defining strength of this group is the diversity of knowledge, skills, and expertise within their global community of practice.
Empowerment through education
TB treatment is not generally part of nurse training, yet in low-resource settings there are fewer doctors – meaning that TB care is often carried out by nurses. This makes high-quality nursing care vital to the successful treatment of TB, and training with shared resources is central to that.
To governments, health institutions, and communities: the path to a TB-free world runs through empowered nurses. Support them. Protect them. Listen to them.
A call from Brazil
As a Brazilian nurse and National Coordinator of the Brazilian Nursing Network for a Tuberculosis-Free Brazil — Rede EnfTB, I invite nurses from every corner of the world to build their own nurse networks. Let us reinforce and empower nurses to exercise true nursing autonomy – bringing their cultural perspectives, their distinct perceptions of care, and their commitment to gathering and sharing the finest practices our profession has to offer.
We also call on every nurse and allied professional to actively engage in NAPs webinars and experience-exchange initiatives throughout the year. These spaces are where frontline knowledge crosses borders, where a solution forged in one country becomes a lifeline in another, and where our collective voice grows strong enough to shape global policy. Do not wait for the world to come to you – bring your experience, your culture, and your expertise to the table.
The place for nurses is where nurses choose to be
Because the place for nurses is precisely where nurses choose to be – and that choice has never been more powerful or more far-reaching.
Nurses today are not confined to the bedside. They are claiming their rightful position as researchers, policymakers, civil society leaders, and scientific voices. Bringing to every space a perspective that no other profession can replicate: the view from the frontline of human suffering, and the wisdom earned from walking alongside patients through their most vulnerable moments.
This is precisely what The Union stands for: a universal, inclusive space where all dimensions of the End TB response converge – the laboratory and the community, the clinical trial and the lived experience, the academic publication and the street-level campaign. The Union recognises that no single sector can end TB alone, and that nurses, uniquely positioned across all of these worlds, are essential threads in every solution.
Welcome to Rio de Janeiro — Brazil!
Let us build that momentum all the way to November, when the Union World Conference on Lung Health will bring together researchers, practitioners, advocates, policymakers and communities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 17 to 20 November 2026 — the world’s most important gathering for lung health and the End TB agenda.
Fernando Sanches
Chair of The Union Nurses and Allied Professionals Sub-Section
Fernando is a member of the Brazilian Tuberculosis Research Network (REDE TB), contributing to the scientific evidence that shapes national TB policy. At the same time, as a member of the Parceria Brasileira contra a Tuberculose — STOP TB Partnership Brazil, he stands firmly within the civil society movement that holds systems accountable and centres the voices of those most affected by the disease.