Abstract
Human resources for health are necessary to the delivery of health services; only by securing a sufficient, equitably distributed, adequately supported and well-performing health workforce can any health goals and targets set by national governments or the international community be met [1]. In spite of the recognition of this central role in attaining health outcomes, investments in human resources for health have been and still are constrained by the perception that the health economy (and the health workers within it) is a consumptive sector, whose costs governments should strive to contain, rather than a contributor to socio-economic development in its own right. This thematic series sought to examine and broaden the evidence on the contribution of investment in human resources for health to broader development outcomes in other sectors, including synergies with education, finance, employment, gender empowerment and peace building.
Highlights
Human resources for health are necessary to the delivery of health services; only by securing a sufficient, equitably distributed, adequately supported and well-performing health workforce can any health goals and targets set by national governments or the international community be met [1]
The WHO Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030, adopted at the World Health Assembly in May 2016, articulates one of its objectives around the linkage between investments in the health workforce and “improvements in health outcomes, social welfare, employment creation and economic growth”, arguing that the investment in human resources for health can deliver a triple return of improved health outcomes, global health security and economic growth [2]
* Correspondence: comettog@who.int Health Workforce, World Health Organization, Avenue Appia 20, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland workforce can have a major positive impact on socioeconomic development, in the world’s poorest countries, where it can increase equity, reduce poverty due to ill health and contribute to sustainable development and social justice [4]. These findings reinforce recent related analyses showing how health sector employment significantly contributes to productivity growth in other sectors [5] and that it is more resilient than other types of employment during financial downturns [6]
Summary
Human resources for health are necessary to the delivery of health services; only by securing a sufficient, equitably distributed, adequately supported and well-performing health workforce can any health goals and targets set by national governments or the international community be met [1]. Evidence from this thematic series underscores the bi-directional nature of the relationship between health workforce investments and the broader socio-economic development features of countries.
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