Pretoria - The High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth on Tuesday delivered its final report and recommendations to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The commission, chaired by President Jacob Zuma and his French counterpart Francois Hollande, was established in March to look into remedies for the global shortfall of trained health workers within the context of achieving universal health coverage, linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The global economy is projected to create around 40 million new health sector jobs by 2030, mostly in middle- and high-income countries. Despite this growth, there is a projected shortage of 18 million health workers in low- and lower-middle income countries.
The commission found that investing in the health workforce is needed to make progress towards the SDGs, including gains in health, global security and inclusive economic growth.
Speaking at the handover of the report, President Zuma said the world needs to focus on the potential of the health sector to generate millions of jobs if health security at the national, regional and global levels is to be increased. This need is particularly urgent in developing countries.
“Communicable diseases know no boundaries and non-communicable diseases are on the increase. To protect ourselves and enhance humanity's well-being, we need to invest in a more extensive and appropriately aligned health workforce,” President Zuma said.
The President said investment in the health workforce and in the broader health economy goes to the heart of implementing the African Union Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“The costs associated with training and deploying health workers and the delivery of health services should not be seen as a cost to the economy,” he said, noting that it should rather be viewed as a prudent investment that will yield substantial dividends in terms of job creation and economic growth.
The commission made 10 recommendations to the member States of the United Nations. These recommendations are:
- Stimulate investments in creating decent health sector jobs, particularly for women and youth, with the right skills, in the right numbers and in the right places.
- Maximise women’s economic participation and foster their empowerment through institutionalising their leadership, addressing gender biases and inequities in education and the health labour market, and tackling gender concerns in health reform processes.
- Scale up transformative, high quality education and lifelong learning so that all health workers have skills that match the health needs of populations and can work to their full potential.
- Reform service models concentrated on hospital care and focus instead on prevention and on the efficient provision of high quality, affordable, integrated, community-based, people-centred primary and ambulatory care, paying special attention to underserved areas.
- Harness the power of cost-effective information and communication technologies to enhance health education, people-centred health services and health information systems.
- Ensure investment in the International Health Regulations core capacities, including skills development of national and international health workers in humanitarian settings and public health emergencies, both acute and protracted. Ensure the protection and security of all health workers and health facilities in all settings.
- Raise adequate funding from domestic and international sources, public and private where appropriate, and consider broad-based health financing reform where needed, to invest in the right skills, decent working conditions and an appropriate number of health workers.
- Promote intersectoral collaboration at national, regional and international levels; engage civil society, unions and other health workers' organisations and the private sector; and align international cooperation to support investments in the health workforce, as part of national health and education strategies and plans.
- Advance international recognition of health workers' qualifications to optimize skills use, increase the benefits from and reduce the negative effects of health worker migration, and safeguard migrants' rights.
- Undertake robust research and analysis of health labour markets, using harmonized metrics and methodologies, to strengthen evidence, accountability and action.
The commission has proposed that member States prioritise these recommendations over the next five years because by doing so, they will increase the chances of meeting several of the goals set in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The document will now be submitted to member States with a warning that those countries who do not make adequate investments in the health sector will not only be jeopardising the health of their citizens but risk missing out on a vibrant source of jobs and inclusive economic growth. – SAnews.gov.za
