Scaling Up, Saving Lives

Overview

Over a billion people worldwide have little or no access to health services and the help and advice of health workers. As a result, millions die or are disabled every year. In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) alerted the world to a shortfall of 4.3 million trained health workers globally. Without enough health workers, the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other health goals will not be achieved. This is a global problem that affects all countries in different ways, but the greatest shortages are in the poorest countries. Fifty-seven countries are in crisis, including 36 in sub-Saharan Africa, six in South East Asia, and five in Latin America and the Caribbean.