The framework for action towards a sustainable health workforce in the WHO European Region was presented and debated. The framework adapts the Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030 in the European context, and has four strategic objectives: a) transform education and performance; b) align planning and investment; c) build capacity, and; d) improve analysis and monitoring.
Introducing the framework and draft resolution, the Director of the Division of Health Systems and Public Health, Dr Hans Kluge, noted that the health workforce was the beating heart of any health system, and the cornerstone of universal health coverage. The Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, argued that the health personnel is a pillar for achieving universal health coverage, and specifically highlighted the importance of the primary care workforce.
On the occasion of the discussion of the framework, WONCA Europe has released a statement on Family Medicine, focusing on the educational needs (both undergraduate and postgraduate) and the policies for retaining and, when necessary, supporting the migration and emigration of family doctors. The statement was delivered by Dr Anna Stavdal, President of WONCA Europe. The full text is available here.
Furthermore, WONCA Europe released a joint statement on Refugee Health on the “Roadmap to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, building on the Health 2020 policy framework”. The statement was prepared in cooperation with the Council of Occupational Therapists for the European Countries, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care, the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, and the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance. You may find the full text of the statement here.
Finally, WONCA Europe released a joint statement on Planetary Health & Primary Care on the agenda item “Improving environment and health in the context of Health 2020 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. The statement was prepared in cooperation with the Council of Occupational Therapists for the European Countries, the Health Care Without Harm Europe, Medicus Mundi International, and the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. We would also like to acknowledge Dr Enrique Barros and Dr Ralph Guggenheim from the WONCA Working Party on Environment for their guidance and support in preparing the statement. The full text of the statement can be found and shared from here.
Dr Anna Stavdal
President of WONCA Europe
