Civil society’s priority actions to support investments in the health and care workforce

What steps can be taken to improve and promote investment in the health and care workforce? Following this guiding question, Wemos, Last Mile Health and Public Services International (PSI) have developed an action brief containing three priority actions for civil society to advocate for increased investment in the health and care workforce from governments and international organizations.

The action brief, titled “Action Brief 3: Enhancing domestic and international financing for investments in the health and care workforce,” was prepared for the World Health Organization (WHO) Fifth Global Forum on Human Resources for Health. It is a response to the Forum’s evidence-based Policy Brief 3, designed to support governments and communities in addressing pertinent health and care workforce challenges. The action brief stemmed from a consultative webinar in which various partner organizations engaged and contributed.

The contribution of civil society to supporting investments in the health and care workforce

The action brief underscores the main challenges in financing health and care workers, particularly the shortage of funds for human resources for health and a lack of stronger coordination and leadership among governments, financing institutions, the WHO, and civil society. Addressing these challenges is key to ensuring the well-being of both health and care workers and the populations they serve.

Civil society organizations play a pivotal role in championing, guiding, and monitoring investments in human resources for health. They serve as a legitimate bridge connecting the needs of health and care workers with public funding policies. The action brief thus encapsulates the priority actions of civil society in this table:

To find out more about each of the action areas, download the Action Brief 3 by clicking on the button below or access the WHO’s official website.