Secretariat

World Health Collaborating Centre for Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Development at the University of Technology Sydney (WHO CCNM UTS)

who ccnm uts team photo

 

The WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Development at the University of Technology Sydney (WHO CCNM UTS) forms part of an international collaborative network that supports and undertakes projects in support of the World Health Organization's program at national, regional, and international levels. The Centre emerged in 2004, was successfully awarded WHO CC Status in 2008, and redesignated in 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024. It was named Secretariat of the SPCNMOA in 2008.

WHO CCNM UTS works within the WHO Western Pacific region, encompassing 37 countries, 22 of which are Pacific Islands, spanning 8 time zones, and comprising over 22,000 individual islands with incredibly diverse cultural, political and social structures. 

Despite the uniqueness of each community, the nursing and midwifery sector highlights some common themes, aligning the work with the needs of the region.  

  1. The needs of the populations are diverse from a local, national, and regional perspective; and
  2. Many Pacific nations face the same challenges – a lack of funding; skills and training despite nurses making up 74% of regulated health workforce of which 95% are women and 51% are under the age of 35.
  3. Regional evidence clearly showcases that nurses are the front-line responders for impacts of climate change, health, and disaster, despite not being well supported at multiple levels.
  4. In order to support nurses and build capability across the region, a mix of research, training, education, monitoring and evaluation and policy development that must be built from the bottom up and the top down collaboratively and in locally relevant frameworks.

The focus is directly informed by the collaborations and partnerships WHO CCNM UTS have developed within the region. These long-standing relationships have built a strong sense of trust, allowing the Centre's impact to span regional policy; government; regulatory councils; health services; not-for-profits and community.

WHO CCNM UTS Team

WHO CCNM UTS has both an Advisory Board and a Management Committee.

The Management Committee comprises of UTS Faculty of Health members who meet regularly to discuss the Centre’s work plan and activities:

Professor Michele Rumsey, Director, WHO CCNM UTS
Professor Debra Anderson, Dean, Faculty of Health, UTS
Professor Angela Dawson, Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Health, UTS
Professor Kathleen Baird, Head of Midwifery Discipline, School of Nursing and Midwifery, UTS
Professor Di Brown, Professor in Nursing Education, UTS
A Professor Jim Buchan, Professor in Global Human Resources for Health, UTS
Amanda Neill, Senior Programs Manager, WHO CCNM UTS
Professor Jacqui Webster, Professor of Public Health, WHO CCNM UTS
Tasmin Goldsmith, Project Officer, WHO CCNM UTS
Kerri Gianesi, Project Officer, WHO CCNM UTS
 

The Advisory Board has been formed to advise the Centre, it includes at least 12 members both from within UTS and core regional partners for a four year term. Members include regional senior nursing and midwifery officers, UTS academic staff, and other senior international health service professionals and representatives from donor organisations.

Advisory Board 2024-2028
Professor Debra Anderson, Dean, Faculty of Health, UTS
Professor Kathleen Baird, Head of School, Nursing and Midwifery, UTS
Professor Michele Rumsey, Director, WHO CCNM UTS
A Professor Debra Thoms, former CNMO Australia
Dr Jane O’Malley, former CNMO New Zealand
Mr Michael Larui, CNMO Solomon Islands
Sr Colleen Wilson, CNMO Fiji
Adj. Professor James Buchan, UTS
Mr Nick Lord, Director, WHO CC for Health Workforce Regulation, AHPRA
Professor Jill White, former Dean Sydney Nursing School
Ms Stephanie Copus Campbell, Australian Ambassador for Gender Equality (AGE)

Terms of Reference and Partnerships

WHO CCNM UTS Terms of Reference (TOR) agreed with WHO Western Pacific Regional Office for 2024 – 2028 to carry out role of Facilitating networking, collaboration and communication among Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers in South Pacific as well as for the Global Network of WHO CC for Nursing and Midwifery Development are: 

  1. To support WHO’s activities in strengthening health workforce, leadership, regulation and education towards improving the quality of services.
  2. To assist WHO in strengthening the capacity of the emergency, maternal, aged and palliative care health workforce through improved education and practice to improve maternal, child, mental health, wellness and aged care health services.

In line with its TOR, WHO CCNM UTS serves as Secretariat of the SPCNMOA and functions as the only nursing and midwifery WHO Collaborating Centre in Australia as Secretariat for the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres in Nursing and Midwifery (GNWHOCCNM) for 2022-2026. Other strong partnerships exist with The Pacific Community (SPC), Pacific Forum, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), NZAID, Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, GNWHOCCNM, International Confederation of Midwives, Asia-Pacific Action Alliance on Human Resources for Health (AAAH), Pacific Human Resource for Health Alliance (PHRHA) and other national, international and regional Professional Organisations.