Healthcare workers’ shortage may hit 10m by 2030, says WHO
The World Health Organisation said investments in education, skills, and decent jobs for health need to be prioritised to meet the rapidly growing demand for health and avert a projected shortage of 10 million health workers by 2030.
The WHO also called on governments and leaders to take action to protect and invest in health and care workers who are at the forefront of the response to health and climate emergencies.
The organisation along with its 194 Member States and other partners are also calling for a renewed drive for health equity in face of unprecedented threats.
The global health body said this in a press statement issued on Monday ahead of its 75th anniversary on April 7, 2023.
75 years ago, in the aftermath of the deadliest and most destructive war in human history, the Constitution of the WHO came into force: a treaty between the nations of the world, that recognised that health was not only a fundamental human right but also fundamental to peace and security.
The global health body said over the past seven and a half decades, there has been extraordinary progress in protecting people from diseases and destruction, including smallpox eradication, reducing the incidence of polio by 99 per cent, saving millions of lives through childhood immunization, declines in maternal mortality and improving health and well-being for millions more.
“The history of WHO demonstrates what is possible when nations come together for a common purpose,” said the Director-General of the WHO, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus.
“We have much to be proud of, but much work to do to realize our founding vision of the highest attainable standard of health for all people.
“We continue to face vast inequities in access to health services, major gaps in the world’s defences against health emergencies, and threats from health-harming products and the climate crisis. We can only meet these global challenges with global cooperation.”
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