REGIONAL COMMITTEE Sixtieth session Thimphu, Bhutan 31 August – 3 September 2007
Provisional Agenda item 16.3 SEA/RC60/19 13 July 2007
FOLLOW-UP ACTION ON SELECTED RESOLUTIONS/ DECISIONS OF THE LAST THREE YEARS: STRENGTHENING THE HEALTH WORKFORCE IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA This document highlights the progress made regarding the South-East Asia Regional Strategic Plan for Human Resource Development which was endorsed by the Fifty-ninth session of the Regional Committee, along with amendments made by members, to ensure equitable access to effective health services through an adequate and balanced distribution of sufficient, competent, and highly motivated health workforce. The Committee also requested the Regional Director to facilitate several actions in relation to regional health workforce development. The progress made by the Region on implementation of resolution SEA/RC59/R6 is mentioned in detail in the document. This document was discussed at the Joint Meting of Health Secretaries and the Consultative Committee for Programme Development and Management held in the Regional Office, New Delhi from 2-6 July 2007. The Joint Meeting made the following recommendations: Action by Member States To propose the agenda item “International Migration of Health Personnel: a challenge for health system in developing countries”, for discussion at the Sixtieth session of the Regional Committee. Action by WHO-SEARO To take steps to intensify the intercountry cooperation and collaboration among Member countries in support of strengthening the health workforce in Member countries of the Region. The document is now submitted to the Sixtieth session of the Regional Committee for its consideration.
SEA/RC60/19
Strengthening the Health Workforce in South-East Asia 1. The 59th Regional Committee endorsed the South-East Asia Regional Strategic Plan for Human Resource Development along with amendments made by members, to ensure equitable access to effective health services through an adequate and balanced distribution of sufficient, competent, and highly motivated health workforce. 2. Along with several recommendations made to the Member States to strengthen their national health workforce situations the Regional committee requested the Regional Director to facilitate several actions in relation to regional health workforce development. 3. The progress made by Department of Health Systems Development on the implementation of the resolution SEA/RC59/R6 (Annex) is as follows: 4. To coordinate, through an inclusive consultative process, the development of a package of interventions and tools for strengthening the health workforce based on the regional strategic plan. •
The South-East Asia Regional Strategic Plan for Health Workforce Development was published. This plan identifies a set of strategic interventions which has made the basis for HRH activities over the next five years.
5. To provide technical support to Member States, as needed, in their efforts to revitalize and develop their health workforce planning and management. •
Member countries have been advocated and assisted to develop Health Workforce strategic plans. Bhutan and Sri Lanka have been actively supported in developing national strategic plans. Nursing and midwifery leaders were encouraged to use or adapt SEARO guideline on Nursing and Midwifery Workforce Management. The Regional Meeting on Revisiting Community-Based Health Workforce is planned to be organized in October 2007 to create awareness on the contribution of these health workforce in health promotion and disease prevention.
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6. To strengthen regional and national training capacity through the introduction of innovative approaches to teaching with-state-of-the-art teaching materials and continuing education through the use of the latest information and communication technology, and create long term capacity in existing institution. •
Technical support has been provided for the development of nursing and midwifery educational modules including midwifery educational module on teaching of
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midwifery, nursing education module on community nursing and nursing module on patients with Avian Influenza. •
Education courses have been developed for nurses and midwives including short course in community oriented nursing curriculum, a 4th 12-week-Training of Trainer on nursing and midwifery management of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support and a Training of Trainer course on nursing and midwifery management of malaria prevention and care. In a process of assisting Government of Bhutan to develop Royal Institute of Health Sciences to a degree awarding institution and Timor Leste to strengthen nursing and midwifery curriculum and teaching.
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7. To support the existing regional partnerships and networks such as the Asia-Pacific Action alliance on Human Resource for Health (AAAH), in exchanging knowledge, and tools related to HRH planning and management, and in fostering South to south collaboration in health workforce development. •
Supported and participated in the activities organized by Asia-Pacific Action Alliance on Human Resources for Health (AAAH) including the first conference of AAAH and the workshop on proposal writing for Global fund round 7.
8. To facilitate further collaboration between schools of public health and health workforce training institutes in the region such as the South-East Public health Education Institutes Network (SEAPHEIN) as well as those in developed and other developing countries to improve training capacities and to promote innovations in education practices •
Technical and financial assistance are regularly provided to support the meeting and activities of South-East Asia Public Health Education Institution Network (SEAPHEIN) to strengthen public health education institutions, curriculum and teaching capacity in the Region.
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Annex
SEA/RC59/R6
Strengthening the Health Workforce in South-East Asia
The Regional Committee, Recalling World Health Assembly resolution WHA59.23 and its own resolutions SEA/RC29/R6, SEA/RC29/R9, SEA/RC38/R10, SEA/RC42/R5, SEA/RC45/R5, and SEA/RC56/R7 relating to human resources for health, Welcoming the Dhaka Declaration by the Health Ministers of Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region on strengthening health workforce in countries of the South-East Asia Region to achieve an effective and well motivated health workforce, Mindful of the fact that effective and efficient management of existing human resources for health, which is one of the most precious and important resources of the health system infrastructure, would lead to effective program delivery, and significant improvements in health system performance, Noting with concern the unacceptable shortages, geographical and skill-mix imbalances in human resources for health in the Region, Recognizing that these health workforce shortages and imbalances of skill-mix and geographical distribution are impeding the efforts to achieve the internationally agreed-health related development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration, and those of regional priority programmes, Aware of the global and regional alliances that are dedicated to health workforce development such as the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA) and the Asia-Pacific Alliance on Human Resource for Health (AAAH), and Having considered the document on Strengthening Health Workforce in South-East Asia (SEA/RC59/12 (Rev.1)), 1. ENDORSES the South-East Asia Regional Strategic Plan for Human Resource Development (document SEA/RC59/16) along with the amendments made by members, to ensure equitable access to effective health services through an adequate and balanced distribution of sufficient, competent, and highly motivated health workforce;
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2.
URGES Member States: (a) (b) to establish multi-stakeholder planning teams to develop multisectoral health workforce plans as committed in the Dhaka Declaration; to develop and implement both short- and long-term national strategies and plans for the health workforce that take into account the full spectrum of health workers in both the public and private sectors, the largely untapped resource of community health workers, and the flows of migrant health workers; to invest in the development of human resources for health in order to respond to population health needs through adequate, competent and motivated health workforce; to strengthen the capacity and quality of training institutions to better reflect local health situations and requirements with a particular emphasis on public health orientation and MDGs, nursing and midwifery; to revitalize the role of community health workers ensuring strong supervisory and support systems, and to strengthen national knowledge generation and management through increasing investment in human resources for health research and health information systems, and
(c)
(d)
(e) (f)
3.
REQUESTS the Regional Director: (a) to coordinate, through an inclusive consultative process, the development of a package of interventions and tools for strengthening the health workforce based on the regional strategic plan; to provide technical support to Member States, as needed, in their efforts to revitalize and develop their health workforce planning and management; to strengthen regional and national training capacity through the introduction of innovative approaches to teaching with state-of-the-art teaching materials and continuing education through the use of the latest information and communication technology, and create long term capacity in existing national institution; to support the existing regional partnerships and networks such as the AsiaPacific Action Alliance on Human Resource for Health (AAAH), in exchanging knowledge, and tools related to HRH planning and management, and in fostering south to south collaboration in health workforce development; to facilitate further collaboration between schools of public health and health workforce training institutes in the region such as the South-East Asia Public Health Educational Institutes Network (SEAPHEIN) as well as those in developed and other developing countries to improve training capacities and to promote innovations in educational practices;
(b) (c)
(d)
(e)
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(f)
to develop and maintain, in collaboration with global and regional networks, a regularly updated regional database of health workforce both in the public and private sectors; to conduct research and document best health workforce practices with the aim to promote the exchange of management information and best practices on human resources for health And promote center of excellence for public health management research in each country, according to its capacity and needs; to report to the Sixty-second Regional Committee in 2009 of progress made in the implementation of this resolution, and to support the quality assurance programme for accrediting public health training institutions.
(g)
(h) (i)