WHPA calls for more investment in the health workforce at UN Summit of the Future
At the UN Summit of the Future, the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) is calling on world leaders for the investment in the health workforce needed to meet the commitments made in the Pact for the Future.
The WHPA is represented at the Summit, taking place during the 79th UN General Assembly on 22-23 September 2024, by Dr. Lujain Alqodmani, President of the World Medical Association and by Dr. Pamela Cipriano, President of the International Council of Nurses, two of WHPA’s founding member organizations. Their presence is a measure of the health professions’ shared commitment to the aims of the Summit.
WHPA appreciates that the Pact for the Future recognizes the fundamental role of health in addressing poverty, inequality and environmental changes although it regrets that health is not more prominent, given its central role.
Catherine Duggan, Chair of WHPA and CEO of the International Pharmaceutical Federation, said, “The health sector overall, and the health workforce, face chronic underfunding in large parts of the world, exemplified by WHO’s projected shortfall of 10 million health workers worldwide by 2030. Without increased investment in the health workforce, and policy making to create a more just global distribution of health professionals, countries will lack the capacity to implement the Pact for the Future. To borrow from Dr. Tedros, Director General of the WHO, without health workers, there is no health. The WHPA calls on UN member states to fully implement the underlying commitments to health in the Pact for the Future.”
The World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) brings together the global organizations representing the world’s dentists, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists and physicians and speaks for over 41 million health care professionals in more than 130 countries. The WHPA works to improve global health and the quality of patient care and facilitates collaboration among the health professions and major stakeholders.
The Summit of the Future is a high-level UN event, bringing world leaders from member states and civil society together to forge a new international consensus on how to deliver a better present and safeguard the future, and to strengthen global governance. It serves as a moment to mend eroded trust and demonstrate that international cooperation can effectively achieve agreed goals and tackle emerging threats and opportunities.
The Pact for the Future is one of the Summit’s outcome documents. Inter-governmentally negotiated and action-oriented, the Pact has chapters on Sustainable development and financing for development; International peace and security; Science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation; Youth and future generations; and Transforming global governance.