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Article 2(1) of the Convention. Development and implementation of a policy concerning nursing services and nursing personnel. The Committee notes the Government’s report, particularly the establishment in the Ministry of Health of the National Nursing Care Centre by Ordnance No. 7 of 10 January 2000. The Government indicates that the Centre has been established with a view to: (i) coordinating the development of nursing care and health care activities; (ii) establishing the policy and strategy for activities relating to nursing care; (iii) creating a basis for cooperation with different organizations; (iv) promoting the conditions to change social and vocational status; and (v) increasing the role of professional nursing personnel in the care provided to the population. The Government adds that the Centre has already undertaken several activities relating to nursing personnel, namely: (i) a programme for the registration of nursing personnel; (ii) a code of conduct; (iii) a document on the activities of nursing care and the participation of nursing personnel in the work process; and (iv) a document on the mandate of nursing personnel in paediatrics. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of Ordnance No. 7 of 10 January 2000 establishing the National Nursing Care Centre, and the Code of Conduct, the registration programme and any other official text adopted in the context of the implementation of a policy on nursing services and nursing personnel. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the work of the National Nursing Care Centre.

The Committee also notes that, according to the statistics provided by the Government, 29,437 nurses were recorded in 2006, representing 83.3 per cent of the needs for nursing personnel. However, the Committee understands that, in view of the migration that occurred during and after the civil war, the country is suffering from a shortage of trained and experienced personnel in the health field. According to a study published by the WHO in 2000, the number of nurses per 1,000 inhabitants fell by 26 per cent between 1990 and 1997. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide detailed information on trends in the situation of nursing personnel and, where appropriate, on the additional measures adopted or envisaged to contain the phenomenon of the migration abroad of skilled nursing personnel.

Articles 3 and 4. Basic requirements in relation to teaching and training. The right to exercise the profession. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report the basic requirements in relation to the teaching and training of nursing personnel, and the conditions governing the right to practice nursing care and services. It also requests the Government to provide a copy of any relevant law or regulation.

Article 6. Conditions of employment. Recalling the requirement set out by the Convention that nursing personnel shall enjoy conditions of employment at least equivalent to those of other workers, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the provisions guaranteeing that nursing personnel enjoy conditions of employment and work at least equivalent to those of other workers in the following fields: (a) hours of work, including regulation and compensation of overtime, inconvenient hours and shift work; (b) weekly rest; (c) paid annual holidays; (d) educational leave; (e) maternity leave; (f) sick leave; and (g) social security.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, updated statistics on the numbers of nursing personnel, disaggregated where possible by level of training and function, sex and age, their relation to the population, the numbers of persons entering and leaving the profession each year, copies of official reports or studies on nursing personnel, and information relating to any practical difficulties encountered in the implementation of the Convention.