• Introduction
• Why are human resources important

Introduction

The 2006 World Health Report focuses on human resources for health, emphasising how health workers are the heart of health systems. Chapter one provides a global profile of the existing health workforce. Chapter two identifies critical health challenges, how the current workforce is meeting them and ways of improving this. Chapter three examines critical issues in the entry of health workers into the workforce and health training institutions, and chapter four explores how to improve the performance of the workforce. Chapter five considers the various ways in which health workers leave active service, including managing exits in times of shortages, factors that influence exits and strategies for managing them.

The authors outline how the ultimate goal of health workforce strategies is a delivery system that can guarantee universal access to health care and social protection to all. The report argues that there is no global blueprint to achieving this, but that each country must devise its own, specific plan. Effective workforce strategies must be matched to country-specific situations and based on a social consensus. The document outlines a ten year global plan of action to address the identified challenges: national leadership must focus on planning, education and management, while global solidarity needs to facilitate knowledge and learning, enable policies, as well as critical responses. [adapted from author]

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