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Article 2, paragraph 1, and Article 5, paragraph 1, of the Convention. National policy on nursing services and nursing personnel. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a Coordinating Council for the Development of Nursing has been set up by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the newly established Ukrainian Nurses Association. It also notes that the Ukrainian Nurses Association is one of the largest public associations bringing together over 84,000 nurses. The Committee requests the Government to elaborate on the composition and activities of the Coordinating Council, in particular as regards the formulation of a specific policy concerning nursing services and nursing personnel. It would also appreciate receiving up to date information on the implementation of the ten-year Programme for the Development of Nursing personnel (2002–2011) to which reference was made in the Government’s previous report.

Article 3. Nursing education and training. The Committee notes the Government’s indications about the 122 educational institutions offering nursing studies, the introduction for the first time of a Master’s degree in nursing and the increase of the duration of nursing training by one year in order to raise the level of training in accordance with international standards. It also notes the information about recent events and projects, such as the 2007 first Congress on the Development of Nursing and the 2007 joint Ukrainian–Dutch project MATRA for the improvement of nursing care and assistance for the elderly. The Committee would appreciate if the Government would continue to provide all available information on the ongoing reorganization of nursing studies and the adoption of new educational standards for nurses and medical assistants, the establishment of bilateral arrangements and partnerships with foreign nursing institutions as well as any other measures likely to impact on the quality of nursing services and the employment and working conditions of nursing personnel.

Article 7. Occupational safety and health of nursing personnel. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to various recently adopted legislative texts and ministerial orders in the field of occupational safety and health, including Presidential Decree No. 132/2006 on measures to achieve greater effectiveness in the fight against dangerous infectious diseases, and Presidential Decree No. 220/2008 on the Coordinating Council on the issues of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and drug addiction.

In this respect, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the Joint ILO/WHO guidelines on health services and HIV/AIDS, published in 2005, with a view to assisting health services in building their capacities to provide their workers with a safe, healthy and decent working environment as the most effective way both to reduce transmission of HIV and to improve the delivery of care to patients. The Committee wishes also to refer to the International Labour Conference discussion held in June 2009 on “HIV/AIDS and the world of work” with a view to adopting an international labour Recommendation, and in particular to paragraph 37 of the proposed conclusions (see ILC, 98th Session, 2009, Report IV(2), page 310) which provides that public health systems should be strengthened, where appropriate, in order to ensure greater access to prevention, treatment, care and support, and to reduce the additional strain on public services, particularly on health workers, caused by HIV/AIDS.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply up to date information concerning the application of the Convention in practice, including, for instance, statistical data and characteristics of the composition of the nursing workforce (e.g. age, gender), statistics on the number of nurses entering and leaving the profession per year, the nurse-to-population ratio, copies of official reports or studies addressing nursing-related issues, any practical difficulties encountered in applying the Convention, etc.