The World Health Organization says as many as 55 countries are grappling with acute shortages of health workers as they continue to seek better wage opportunities in wealthier countries.
They continue to look for better paying opportunities in wealthy countries where efforts to recruit them have stepped up amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to WHO, African countries are most affected by the phenomenon, with 37 countries on the continent facing shortages of health workers.
“Health worker shortages threaten our chances of achieving universal health coverage by 2030, a key promise of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
The actions of wealthy countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development are being scrutinized, including by WHO warnings.
"Within Africa, it's a very dynamic economy that creates new opportunities," Jim Campbell, WHO's director of health workforce policy, said in a statement Tuesday. “While Gulf countries have traditionally relied on international staff, some high-income OECD countries have taken We are actually accelerating recruitment and hiring.Pandemic".
To help countries protect vulnerable health systems, WHO has released an updated Health Worker Support and Protection List.
"These countries need priority support for developing health workers and strengthening health systems, as well as additional safeguards to limit aggressive international recruitment," the WHO said.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus supports Universal Health his coverage call for all countries in line with the SDGs and all countries comply with her WHO List of Support and Protection for Health Workers I urged you to
“Health workers are the backbone of any health system, but 55 countries with the world's weakest health systems are in short supply, and many are losing them to international migration. I will,” he added. Many countries respect existing WHO guidelines on the employment of health workers, but WHO warns that the principles are not universally accepted.
"What we are seeing is that most countries are respecting these regulations by not actively recruiting from these (vulnerable) countries," Campbell said.
“But there is also a private job market and we also expect to meet some of the expected global standards of practice and behavior.”
Mechanisms are also in place for governments and other individuals to notify the WHO if they have "concerns" about the conduct of recruiters, WHO officials said.
WHO's List of Support and Protection for Health Workers does not prohibit international recruitment, but urges governments involved in such programs to recruit qualified health workers into national health systems.