Italy's healthcare workers nominated as "the first in the western world to have to face a very serious health emergency."

Italy's doctors, nurses and healthcare workers have been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their efforts in battling the covid-19 pandemic.

The candidature, approved by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo, was put forward by the Italian branch of the Gorbachev Foundation, to recognise the fact that "Italian health workers were the first in the western world to have to face a very serious health emergency, in which they resorted to possible remedies of battlefield medicine, fighting in the trenches to save lives and often losing theirs."

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As required by protocol, the proposal was signed officially by a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Lisa Clark, an American who lives in Tuscany and has provided voluntary assistance during the covid-19 crisis, and co-president of the International Peace Bureau, to whom the honour was conferred in 2017 for her commitment to nuclear disarmament.

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"I nominated the Italian healthcare system for the Nobel Peace Prize" - said Clark - "because its self-denial was moving. Like something out of a fairy tale book, nothing like this has been seen for decades. The medical workers no longer thought of themselves but of what they could do for others using their expertise."

Medici, infermieri e operatori sanitari italiani sono stati ufficialmente candidati al Premio #Nobel per la Pace 2021. Tutta Italia non vi ringrazierà mai abbastanza per il vostro straordinario lavoro in questa emergenza: comunque vada per noi avete già vinto! pic.twitter.com/64YTP5QgP6

— Giovanni Toti (@GiovanniToti) March 16, 2021