The World Health Organization (WHO) released its 2006 edition of the World Health Report this month. This year's publication, entitled "Working Together for Health", focuses on the health workforce and the desperate need for increased numbers of health professionals, particularly within developing countries. The results of the report estimate that some 4.3 million additional doctors, nurses, midwives, managers and public health workers are required worldwide, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, to provide basic health services for the global population.
In the poorest countries of the world, malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS continue to take the lives of millions each year where health care services are severely inadequate. The world health report identifies 57 countries, 36 of which are in sub-Saharan Africa, where the situation is most dire. In addition, the continued "brain drain" of health care professionals—the migration of health practitioners from developing countries to higher paying jobs in the developed world—has left these regions fraught with health epidemics and declining numbers of health workers.
According to WHO Director-General Dr. LEE Jong-wook, "The global population is growing, but the number of health workers is stagnating or even falling in many of the places where they are needed most. Across the developing world, health workers face economic hardship, deteriorating infrastructure and social unrest. In many countries, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has also destroyed the health and lives of health workers." (World Health Day 2006 press release)
"Working Together for Health" discusses all stages of health workers' professional tracks and provides strategies for implementing 10-year plans that would allow countries in need of better health systems to increase the number of healthcare professionals. These plans require broad international support and substantial financial investments. The report also features several data tables, available as individual pdf files, with indicators specific to health care. These can be found in the report's statistical annex.
EarthTrends highlighted international data on number of physicians, disease prevalence, and health spending in the 2005 Human Health data table. Additional health-related information on EarthTrends can be found in the Population, Health, and Human Well-being research topic.
