PHA-Exch> GHWA welcomes health workforce commitments to reach MDGs

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Vern Weitzel <vern.weitzel at gmail.com>
crossposted from: "[health-vn discussion group]" <health-vn at cairo.anu.edu.au
>

From: Neil Pakenham-Walsh, UK <neil.pakenham-walsh at ghi-net.org>

Statement: GHWA welcomes health workforce commitments to reach MDGs
http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/news/mdghlm_commitments/en/index.html

FRIDAY 26 SEPTEMBER, 2008 -- The Global Health Workforce Alliance welcomes
the pledges of commitment expressed at the United Nations High Level
Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals and surrounding events that
place resolving the health workforce crisis at the centre of ensuring
progress on improving maternal and child health and addressing killer
diseases such as malaria.

Significant financial commitments were made to address the health
workforce as part of the drive to move closer to the achievement of MDGs 4
and 5 on reducing maternal and child mortality. Commitments included a
pledge of £450 million from the UK over the next three years to support
national health plans, incorporating training more nurses, midwives and
doctors in eight of the poorest countries. Norwegian Prime Minister Jens
Stoltenberg announced that the Global Campaign for Health will aim to
mobilize an extra $30 billion by 2015 to ensure 4 million more children's
lives are saved and 33 million more births are attended by skilled health
workers. A new taskforce on Innovative Financing for Health, launched by
the UK, Norway, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and others,
will help towards funding over 1 million health workers by 2015, and will
report to the G8 next year.

Through their commitments in New York, governments, the private sector,
the United Nations, the international community and civil society
underlined the critical importance of increasing the quality and quantity
of health workers to ensure countries are able to address issues of
maternal and child mortality, better manage infectious diseases and better
prepare for future threats posed by new pandemics, the impacts of climate
change and growing burdens of chronic disease.

"The pledges of solid funding show leaders moving beyond words to action -
which is critical for progress on the ground," said Executive Director of
the Global Health Workforce Alliance Dr Mubashar Sheikh. "We now have
concrete promises to massively scale up numbers of health workers. We must
work collaboratively, and quickly, to ensure training commences
immediately," he said.

The world is facing a critical shortage of more than 4 million health
workers, including a lack of at least 1.5 million in Africa. Health
workers provide essential, life-saving interventions such as care for
pregnant women, safe childbirth, vaccinations and access to services for
AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

The Global Health Workforce Alliance urges leaders to continue their solid
commitment, including keeping the issue high on the agenda of the upcoming
follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review
the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus which will be held in Doha,
Qatar, at the end of November.

The Alliance partnership will continue to support countries in their
responses to the crisis to achieve the goal of access for all to skilled
and motivated health workers as part of a functioning health system.
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