Give up hope - but keep the faith! That's been my motto in these difficult times, for nursing and health systems and for the world. I have been trying to focus on 'active hope' and how to contribute to positive change. My current work has taken me back to the international stage more frequently.
From 2016 I have been the programme director of the Global Nursing Leadership Institute, run by the International Council of Nurses.
http://www.icn.ch/events/Global-Nursing-Leadership-Institute-2018-Policy...
This has led to me giving ongoing support to nurse leaders worldwide who attended the programme, mentoring them by phone and email, and making country visits. In early 2018, for example, at the invitation of one of our alumnae, Catherine Godinez, I worked with Diana Mason from the USA to help nurse leaders from Belize rebuild their leadership group, introduce emerging leaders, create a National Action Plan for Nursing, and engage with policy-makers.
Also in 2016 I worked on an influential British parliamentary report on global nursing, Triple Impact: how developing nursing will improve health, promote gender equality and support economic growth. This raised many familiar themes but put them together in a new way to encourage policy-makers worldwide to see nursing in a different light, offering positive solutions to many problems, and development opportunities.
http://www.appg-globalhealth.org.uk
The report helped to inspire the launch of a three-year global campaign called Nursing Now, in February 2018. I was active in shaping the campaign and have written and spoken about it worldwide.