May 2019
I speak on behalf of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), supported by the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA), representing over 31 million physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and physical therapists.
WHPA welcomes the report on the WHO Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030, and echoes the encouragement given to Member States (A72/24 Clauses 28(a), (b)) to report data and approve streamlined reporting.
WHPA has affirmed its commitment to partnership on this issue and is involved in the Education Hub of the Global Health Workforce Network (A72/24 Clause 7), providing input into the Global Competency Framework for Universal Health Coverage. This framework identifies the health worker competencies needed to provide quality, integrated, people-centred, health-promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care services.
We encourage all activities that strengthen collaboration in the healthcare team and see this as crucial for an effective, efficient workforce. The WHO Competency Framework for Health Worker’s Education and Training on AMR (A72/24 Clause 9), is a good example of how interprofessional collaboration needs to begin as early as the pre-service phase of education.
We refer Member States to WHPA’s Collaborative Practice Statement, which is core to our work and interprofessional approach. This provides key principles required for effective interprofessional collaborative practice, including recommendations for policy and governance structures, health system infrastructures, and education programmes and opportunities.
WHPA offers assistance to the Leadership Hub and for the development of a curriculum for a course on governance in human resources for health (A72/24 Clause 20).
We stress that health professionals are here to help and are key stakeholders in improving quality of care and health systems. We encourage states to work with all cadres of health professionals in order to better understand, prepare and plan for the existing and future needs of their communities and health systems.