25 September 2025—The World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) is calling on global leaders to make urgent investments in the health workforce to meet the commitments adopted at today’s United Nations High-Level Meeting (HLM) on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health.
The HLM, held at UN Headquarters in New York as part of the 80th UN General Assembly, brings together heads of state, ministers, and leaders of UN agencies and civil society with the aim of advancing action on NCDs. Representing the voice of health professionals, WHPA leaders are stressing that stronger health systems and accelerated action on NCDs will only be possible if governments commit to sustainable workforce strategies, including adequate funding for education, decent working conditions, and interprofessional collaboration as outlined in recently updated WHPA guidelines.
FDI World Dental Federation President Dr. Nikolai Sharkov joined world leaders and senior UN and WHO officials in today’s plenary session, representing health professions on the global stage at the highest level. FDI Executive Director Enzo Bondioni and International Council of Nurses CEO Howard Catton had powerful statements during multi-stakeholder panels on the determinants of NCDs and health systems strengthening.
WHPA emphasizes that empowering the health workforce with the right policies, resources, and opportunities for collaboration is critical to delivering high-quality, integrated care for people living with NCDs.
Making health professionals’ voices heard
Beyond the plenary, WHPA leaders are actively shaping the conversation in the official programme of UNGA side events. FDI co-sponsored a UN side event on addressing sugars as a common risk factor for NCDs, pressing for stronger professional engagement in policy making. ICN’s Howard Catton was an invited speaker at a UN side event on improving the quality of care through better health facility infrastructure, ensuring the voices of those at the frontline of care delivery remain central to global health policy discussions.
WHPA leaders were also advocating for urgent action to invest in health professionals at a number of civil society-organized side events:
- Health without borders: Building a global workforce for the future. Hosted by Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (22-24 September)
- Protecting the Mental Health of Health Workers: Resilience and Retention for the Future. Hosted by Project Hope, Frontline Health Workers Coalition, Dartmouth Health (23 September; 14.30-16.30, invitation only)
- Unlocking the Potential of Self-Care in the Fight Against NCDs. Hosted by Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) in partnership with Global Self-Care Federation (22 September, invitation only)
- Sustaining joint actions, coherent policies and inclusive programmes on NCDs and mental health: Fourth Multistakeholder Gathering. Co-sponsored by WHO, WDF, and NCDA, with the support of Viatris (22 September; 18.00-20.00)
- Mobilizing Action on AMR – Why Collaboration with the NCD Community is Key to Better Treatment Outcomes. Hosted by Norwegian Cancer Society, Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), Swedish Cancer Society, GARDP and the Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations. (24 September; 08-00-09.30)
Read the press release in English
Photo credit: Saj Shafique at Unsplash