European perspectives on global health: a policy glossary

5. Europe must act now for global health
the continuous outflow of skilled workers, trained over
several years at significant cost.
Although there is no consensus on the way forward
to manage the human resources crisis, several
proposals have been made and the EU should seize
this opportunity to take the lead in addressing this
increasingly important issue.
There are incipient efforts being made in this regard.
As a corollary to the May 2005 communication on
“A <strong>European</strong> Programme for Action to Confront
HIV / AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis through External
Action” ( COM ( 2005 ) 179 ), which identified the lack
of health workers as a major barrier to fight the three
diseases, the <strong>European</strong> Commission issued the “EU
Strategy for Action on the Crisis in Human Resources
for Health in Developing Countries” ( COM ( 2005 ) 642
final ). This communication outlines concrete actions
to be taken by the Union at the national, regional,
and global level, in support of human resources
capacity building, including mobilising funding for
training programmes and the development of a health
workforce in developing countries, promoting the
ethical recruitment of foreign workers, working with
the health worker diaspora and promoting return
programmes, strengthening the social dimension
of globalisation, and promoting decent work as a
global goal for all. This plan of action was discussed
and ratified by the EU Council during the General
Affairs and External Relations Council meeting in
Luxembourg in April 2006. Furthermore, as proposed
by WHO, there is a need to develop and implement
strategies in source countries ( adapt training to needs
and demands, improve working and living conditions ),
in receiving countries ( fair treatment of migrant
workers, responsible recruitment policies, etc. ) and
internationally ( implementation of ethical recruitment
policies and codes of practice, etc. ), in order to
mitigate the impact of international migration on the
health workforce crisis.
Adequate management of supply and demand
requires careful planning of needs in the various
categories of health workers, taking into account the
possibility of innovations in working practice. Training
institutions, private sector and civil society should be
involved in this process.
Action : Adequate working conditions and financing
are critical to sustained human resources for health
policy. This would require a global and long-term
commitment and cooperation, enhanced governance
and strong leadership. The EU is well-positioned to
take the lead on an international agreement on the
migration of health professionals.
References :
Awases, M., Gbary, A., Nyoni, J. and Chatora, R. Migration
of Health Professionals in Six Countries : A Synthesis Report.
Brazzaville : World Health Organization Regional Office for
Africa, 2004.
Drager, N. and Fidler, D. Managing Liberalisation of Trade
in Services from a Health Policy Perspective. World Health
Organization, 2004.
Global Commission on International Migration. Migration in
an Interconnected World : New Directions for Action. 2005.
Liese, B. and Dussault, G., The State of the Health Workforce
in Sub-Saharan Africa : Evidence of Crisis and Analysis of
Contributing Factors. World Bank, 2004.
World Health Organization. World Health Report 2006 :
Working Together for Health. Geneva, 2006.
There is also a need to develop strategies to address
the shortfall in human resources to contribute to the
achievement of the internationally agreed goals, such
as the Millennium Development Goals, deal with the
increasing burden of non-communicable diseases both
in developed and developing countries and confront the
threat of emergencies and epidemics such as avian flu.
Global Health Policy Glossary
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