Today, the South Pacific Nurses' Forum (SPNF) started in Auckland, in which nursing experts are presenting and debating about up-to-date health matters in a conference that lasts over 4 days.

Participants of the conference are stemming from the South Pacific region and include speakers such as Rosemary Bryant, president of the International Council of Nurses, or Jane O'Malley, chief nurse of New Zealand.

Bryant underlines: "The World Bank has identified nurses and midwives as the most cost-effective resource for delivering high quality health care in both new and established economies".

The topics of the conference include educational progress, leadership roles, employee status quo and disaster preparedness, all relevant issues in the field of nursing in the Southern Pacific territories.

Aspasia Katrina Vaka, Secretary of the Tongan Nurses' Association, points out: "It is important we collaborate with other nurses throughout the Pacific to strengthen the professionalism of nursing in our country and the forum offers us that opportunity".

Even nurse representatives of very small Island communities such as Tuvalu are joining the conference.

The conference is expected to agree on a shared nursing agenda and unifies the practicing nurses in South Pacific countries and states to strive for an equally high quality standard nursing system. The overall goal is to meet the challenge of mastering global health challenges such as the economic crisis, chronicle diseases and equal access to health care.