International Nurses Day, celebrated annually on May 12th to mark the contributions made to society by nurses, has once again stirred up concern over the shortage of nurses in China.

Statistics show that after years of health-care reform, the number of registered nurses in China had risen from just over 2 million in 2010 to more than 4 million by the end of 2018. While this was impressive and increased the number of nurses per thousand people in China from 1.52 in 2010 to 3.0 in 2018, this number is still lower than the international average of 4 to 5 per thousand people. Also, in the rural and western regions of China, the average number of nurses per thousand people could be even lower.

Nursing is a profession that is often unappreciated. The heavy workload, low wages, poor working conditions and the deteriorating relationships between doctors and patients have all contributed to a loss of incentive to choose nursing as a career path, making increasing the number of nurses further even harder.

And as China’s population continues to age, jeopardizing the country’s economic ascent, it is unclear if the two-child policy will be able to redress this demographic imbalance.

Data shows that as of the end of 2018, the elderly in China aged 60 and over numbered 249 million and those aged 65 and over were 166 million. Among them, 150 million are suffering from chronic diseases, accounting for 65% of the total, and a further 44 million are either disabled or partially-disabled.

To address nursing challenges, measures should be taken including increasing nurses’ income, improving their working conditions, and addressing the gender imbalance.