The WHO recommends designating 2020 as 'year of the nurse and midwife.' World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that 2020 marks the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth and that "we need to celebrate people like her who have contributed greatly to humanity." The action by the WHO's executive board was enthusiastically endorsed by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and the Nursing Now campaign. In a statement, ICN president Annette Kennedy said it would "go a long way to raising the profile of nursing and highlighting the importance of the need for more well-educated nurses, of investing in recruitment and retention strategies, and of removing the barriers to the development of advanced nursing roles that are proving highly effective at expanding health care coverage." The recommendation will now be considered by the World Health Assembly in May.