About us
Health systems can only function with health workers; improving health service coverage and realizing the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is dependent on their availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality.
WHO estimates a projected shortfall of 11.1 million health workers by 2030 (1), mostly in low- and lower-middle income countries. However, countries at all levels of socioeconomic development face, to varying degrees, difficulties in the education, employment, deployment, retention, and performance of their workforce.
The chronic under-investment in education and training of health workers in some countries and the mismatch between education and employment strategies in relation to health systems and population needs are contributing to continuous shortages. These are compounded by difficulties in deploying health workers to rural, remote and under-served areas. Moreover, the increasing international migration of health workers may exacerbate health workforce shortfalls, particularly in low- and lower-middle income countries.
In some countries, challenges in universal access to health workers may also result from the lack of fiscal space to absorb the supply of health workers. As a result, some countries face the paradox of health worker unemployment co-existing with major unmet health workforce needs.
The High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth found that investments in the health and social workforce can spur inclusive economic growth. The health workforce has also a vital role in building the resilience of communities and health systems and in emergency preparedness and response. Approximately 67% of the health workforce are women: investing in the health workforce is an opportunity to create decent employment opportunities, in particular for women and youth.
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Latest technical briefs
Our Team
All->Laurence Codjia
Technical Officer - Health Labour Market and partnerships
Shakira Choonara
Technical Officer, Health Labour Market and Partnerships unit
Our work
News
External publications
Applying WHO COVID-19 workforce estimate tools remotely in an African context: a case report from Mali...
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the burden on health systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where health systems already struggle....
Multi-country case studies on planning RMNCH services using WISN methodology: Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya,...
Globally, many countries are adopting evidence-based workforce planning that facilitates progress towards achieving sustainable development goals for reproductive,...
An assessment of existing surge capacity of tertiary healthcare system of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province...
Globally the occurrence of disasters has increased more than fourfold during the last three decades. The main concern for the healthcare system responding...
Estimating staffing requirements using workload indicators of staffing need at Braun District Hospital...
Papua New Guinea has seen some improvements in health indicators over the past years, but the pace of improvements is not as robust as expected. The Health...
How to make the best use of the workload indicators of staffing needs method in determining the proportion...
The Ministry of Health in the Sultanate of Oman decided to have better distribution of the health workforce among all health facilities through evidenced-based...
Adopting workload-based staffing norms at public sector health facilities in Bangladesh: evidence from...
Bangladesh’s Health system is characterized by severe shortage and unequitable distribution of the formally trained health workforce. In this context,...
An experience with the use of WISN tool to calculate staffing in a palliative care hospital in Brazil
The article describes a healthcare staffing exercise that took place in a Cancer Hospital IV, Brazil’s first public palliative care unit. There are numerous...
Use of the WISN method to assess the health workforce requirements for the high-volume clinical biochemical...
The clinical laboratory services, as an essential part of health care, require appropriate staff capacity to assure satisfaction and improve outcomes for...
Workforce problems at rural public health-centres in India: a WISN retrospective analysis and national-level...
Rural India has a severe shortage of human resources for health (HRH). The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) deploys HRH in the rural public health...
Application of workload indicators to assess the allocation of orthopedists in a national referral hospital...
The study analyzes the allocation of specialized doctors’ orthopedists in a high-complex hospital, using the WHO’s Workload Indicators of Staffing Need...
Assessment of staffing needs for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses at primary care units...
The balance between supply and demand for primary health care (PHC) services is one of the main challenges to the health system in Brazil. In this context,...
Applying the workload indicators of staffing needs method in nursing health workforce planning: evidences...
Vietnam has encountered difficulties in ensuring an adequate and equitable distribution of health workforce. The traditional staffing norms stated in the...
Events
Normative publications
Essential public health functions: A guide to map and measure national workforce capacity
Monitoring the composition of the workforce that delivers the essential public health functions (EPHFs), including a specific function and focus on emergency...
National workforce capacity for essential public health functions: Operational handbook for country-led...
Achieving and sustaining national progress towards universal health coverage, health security and the health-related Sustainable Development Goals necessitates...
Defining essential public health functions and services to strengthen national workforce capacity
The purpose of this document is to support countries in contextualizing and implementing action area 1 of the roadmap and action plan to strengthen the...
Health labour market analysis in Tajikistan
The Health Labour Market Analysis (HLMA) was undertaken to understand the health workforce situation in Tajikistan to inform the development...
Additional publications
2024 Private recruitment agencies reporting instrument on the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel
2024 National Reporting Instrument on the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel
Fair share for health and care fact sheet
Health Practitioner Regulation Systems
Working for Health learning and implementation report 2018–2023
Key issues for health workforce in the Global Monitoring Report 2023
Health topics
Related teams