A new global partnership that aims to improve the world's shortage of doctors, nurses, midwives, and other health workers was launched at last week's World Health Assembly in Geneva. The announcement came six weeks after the World Health Organization made the issue a priority in its annual report, in which it called for a global action plan to tackle the shortage of an estimated 4.2 million health workers.
Human Resources
WHO alliance aims to tackle the world's lack of health workers
Rehwagen C: British Medical Journal 332:1294, 3 June 2006
Further details: /newsletter/id/31583
Holding second jobs: Regulation in the public health sector
id21 Health, 9 May 2006: Jan S, Bian Y, Jumpa M
Medical professionals working in the public sector often supplement their salaries through second jobs in the private sector. Their dual job activities have both positive and negative implications for the public health sector. What policy options exist for regulating dual job holding and what is their likely effect?
New global alliance seeks to address worldwide shortage of doctors, nurses and other health workers
World Health Organisation, 25 May 2006
A new global partnership that will strive to address the worldwide shortage of nurses, doctors, midwives and other health workers was launched today. The Global Health Workforce Alliance will draw together and mobilize key stakeholders engaged in global health to help countries improve the way they plan for, educate and employ health workers. The Alliance will seek practical approaches to urgent problems, and will also serve as an international information hub and monitoring body.
Not enough there, too many here: understanding geographical imbalances in the distribution of the health workforce
Human Resources for Health 4(12), 26 May 2006
Access to good-quality health services is crucial for the improvement of many health outcomes, such as those targeted by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the international community in 2000. The health-related MDGs cannot be achieved if vulnerable populations do not have access to skilled personnel and to other necessary inputs. This paper focuses on the geographical dimension of access and on one of its critical determinants: the availability of qualified personnel.
Skilled migration: healthcare policy options
Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty, University of Sussex: Gent S, Skeldon, R
This policy brief examines the case for a two-tiered health training system. Within this system, doctors and nurses are trained to international standards, while many others are trained to more basic levels of health care, enabling them to meet the basic needs of the people in rural areas.
The ethics of cherry picking: The dilemma of where you live, work and play!!!
e-CIVICUS: 22 May 2006, Naidoo K
A recent conference entitled "Immigration Futures", organised by the Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements. One panel focused on outward migration which looks at the “brain drain” problem facing many predominantly poor countries since some of their most skilled citizens choose to live and work in predominantly rich countries. Manchester in England, UK for example, has more Malawian doctors than the entire Malawian health system!
US plan to lure nurses may hurt poor nations
The New York Times, 24 May 2006: Dugger CW
As the United States runs short of nurses, senators are looking abroad. A little-noticed provision in their immigration bill would throw open the gate to nurses and, some fear, drain them from the world's developing countries.
Focus on human resources for health in scaling up ART Delivery
Eldis Health Systems Reporter - HIV/AIDS Feature
With a shortage of health care workers and increasing demand to provide ART, existing ART delivery models may not be adequate and many have argued the need to rethink standard delivery models. Researchers and practitioners have argued that we should consider context-specific delivery models that rely much less on medical doctors in situations where they are in short supply. This feature discusess this matter in detail.
Health-care workers must be given a fairer deal
World Health Organisation
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that failure to address problems confronting health workers may push some health systems to the brink of collapse. It describes the grave implications of neglecting health workers' rights in terms of remuneration and working conditions.
Medical brain drain puts Southern Africa in a quandary
Inter Press Service News Agency: Nduru M
The figures tell it all. In South Africa, 37 percent of the country's doctors and seven percent of its nurses have migrated to Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, Britain and the United States. These statistics, compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), reflect the magnitude of the health worker "brain drain" in Southern Africa.