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AKARTA: In connection with International Nurses Day, the Health Ministry plans to launch a national campaign on Thursday in an effort to accelerate the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

The ministry and the Association of Indonesian Nurse Academies is scheduled to sign a declaration on the prevention of HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and malnutrition.

“Nurses have been actively participating in efforts to meet the MDGs over the past few years. However, the ministry has yet to make [such efforts] a national movement. With this declaration, we hope we can intensify [participation in] the cause,” event coordinator Prayetni said Wednesday.

She said her office would also hold a national workshop for nurses.

“We expect two things from this workshop. First, we want to draw up a roadmap on the contributions nurses make to national health services. Second, we want to look for strategies to improve nurses’ [qualifications] to meet global nursing standards,” she said. — JP