11 February 2025—WHPA delivered two hard-hitting statements on the health workforce and on climate change at the WHO’s Executive Board (EB) last week, speaking up for health professionals.
WHPA called for Dr. Tedros to fulfill his commitment to reducing unethical recruitment of health professionals, largely driven by high-income countries and agencies depleting the health workforce in low-income countries often facing severe shortages themselves.
The statement comes as the WHO is reviewing its Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel and where WHPA is represented on the Expert Advisory Group.
Delivered by Howard Catton, CEO of WHPA member ICN, the statement went on to express WHPA’s concern at the slowing rate of implementation of WHO’s Global Strategy for Human Resources for Health, and the need to differentiate carefully between health professionals and other health service providers in health workforce planning and service delivery to ensure safe and quality care.
The WHPA statement on climate change was delivered by Pablo Estrella Porter, Chair of the Junior Doctors Network at the World Medical Association. In it WHPA called for health professionals and civil society to be included in the development of climate-health strategies. Health professionals are frontline witnesses to the impacts of climate change, and are essential to ensuring effective action. The statement also highlights the urgent need to mitigate climate change, including phasing out fossil fuels, as critical to reducing the health burden of climate-related infectious and non-communicable diseases and protecting future generations.
This session of the EB was held in the shadow of the US withdrawal from the WHO and the consequent shortfall in funding for the organization. Debates are ongoing on how the organization should respond and adapt, and what this means for the adoption and implementation of resolutions discussed at EB156.
The EB is the body which implements the decisions and policies of the World Health Assembly (WHA), and is composed of representatives of 34 WHO Member States. The 156th session of the EB took place on 3-11 February 2025.
Read the WHPA’s constituency statement on the health workforce
Read the WHPA’s constituency statement on climate change and health
Image credit: WHO; Thumbnail credit: Tolu Osigbesane