WHO is organizing the Fifth Global Forum on Human Resources for Health from April 3 to 5, 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Forum, the largest gathering of health workforce professionals, health policymakers and multisectoral partners, focuses on the theme of Protect, safeguard and invest in health and care personnel.
As the midpoint of the Sustainable Development Goals approaches, and three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, population health outcomes and life expectancy are in reverse.
Health systems depend on the availability, accessibility and quality of health workers. However, the chronic shortage of health workers, underinvestment in their education and training, as well as low wages and the mismatch between education and employment strategies are creating significant challenges. The pandemic exacted a high price: the latest figures show that around 50% of health and care workers, who already felt overworked and undervalued before COVID-19, experienced burnout due to the enormous additional burdens placed on them.
“The world must take urgent action to protect and invest in health workers in all countries. Health workers need decent wages and working conditions,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “WHO calls on all countries to increase investment in education and employment of the health workforce to meet the needs of their population and the demands of the health system. This requires political leadership in all sectors, not just health.”
Marking more than five years since the adoption of the Global strategy on human resources for health: Workforce 2030, the Forum will share evidence and experiences on workforce development as well as opportunities for a post-COVID-19 era. It will examine the necessary policy solutions, investments, and multi-sector partnerships to address health and care workforce challenges and advance implementation of the Action Plan Working for Health 2022-2030.
The WHO recommends that all countries increase the graduation of health personnel to reach 8-12% of the active labor force per year. For example, a country with a total of 5,000 doctors would need to graduate between 400 and 600 doctors per year to maintain and improve capacity in relation to the needs of the population and the demand of the health system.
“National responses to COVID-19 have demonstrated that the health and care workforce is capable of driving enormously positive change,” said Jim Campbell, Director of the Department of Health Workforce. “If we want equity and universal health coverage, if we want global health security, we must protect health workers. We must invest in them and we must act together.”
The Forum will devote special attention to investing in and financing the health workforce in all countries: to secure resources for expanding education and employment. He will present the work led by the WHO African Regional Office together with Member States and regional partners in developing the African Health Workforce Investment Charter, which aims to align and stimulate investments to reduce half the inequalities in access to health workers; especially in those African countries identified as those with the greatest scarcity.
The Forum is attended by over 2,000 delegates, most joining online and close to 200 participating in person. It provides a pivotal moment to focus on the issue at the center of the global health agenda, taking place during the Global Health Worker Week campaign, and just before World Health Day, that this year marks the 75th anniversary of WHO.he birthday on April 7, 2023.
The results of the Forum will inform the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meetings on Universal Health Coverage and Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response scheduled for September 2023.
Note to the editor
At the 75th World Health Assembly in May 2022, Member States encouraged the use of the Global compact of health and care workers which consolidates relevant international legal instruments to provide concise guidance on how to protect health and care workers, safeguard their rights, and promote and ensure decent work, free from racial and all other forms of discrimination, and an environment of safe and conducive practice. He WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel It is a key instrument in this area. The Code, adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2010, establishes and promotes voluntary practices for the ethical international recruitment of health personnel. It requires countries to implement effective health workforce planning, education, training, and retention strategies to maintain a health workforce that is appropriate for each country’s specific conditions. In March 2023, the WHO published the WHO Health Workforce Safeguards and Support List (2023).