Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA), which supports medical regulators around the world to exchange best practice through scientific, educational and collaborative activities.
The agreement was signed by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Joan Simeon, Chair of IAMRA, who was joined by IAMRA secretary Dr Humayun Chaudhry and Dr Jeffrey Carter, Chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States.
Through the memorandum of understanding, WHO and IAMRA will work to strengthen health workforce regulation using research and identifying evidence gaps, providing technical support to increase regulatory capacity in countries, honing understanding of issues faced in low- and middle-income countries through increased participation and collaboration with their regulators, and support for the implementation and uptake of the WHO Guidance on Health Practitioner Regulation.
The MoU framework formalizes the collaboration between the two organizations. ”Today’s signing is the culmination of a lot of work between IAMRA and the WHO,” stated Joan Simeon, who is also the chief executive officer of Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa Medical Council of New Zealand. “IAMRA looks forward to utilizing the resources and expertise of the WHO in advancing our jointly held strategic goals in medical and health professional regulation. By working more closely with WHO in information sharing and priority driven programs, we are confident we can help achieve more effective medical regulation worldwide and through our support of regulatory activities in low and middle-income countries.”
“We are delighted to enter into this agreement with IAMRA and work together to strengthen health professional regulation to ensure everyone in every country gets access to the best possible health care,’ Dr Tedros said. ‘We look forward to continuing and enhancing our strong professional relationships with IAMRA, which will benefit our shared goals of international collaboration to ensure a safe and competent global health workforce.’