Time to blossom? Renewed partnership of WHO and GHWA

A tough period of engagement between the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Human Resources for Health (HRH) staff and the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA) secretariat over the last halve a year has eventually resulted in a better (defined) marriage. After a sharp decline in financial resources for both of them, the need to rush to the same donors and poor collaboration nearly killed their partnership. GHWA will continue its activities (at least) until 2016. I hope today's GHWA Board meeting will bless yesterday's announced renewed partnership of WHO and GHWA.

Both organizations had very little time to organize this Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health. And although I am rather frustrated that it was mostly about sending information (I was also spreading messages myself), I am also excited to read that with the Recife Political Declaration on Human Resources for Health government representatives commit themselves again firmly to implementing the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel. Together with our own commitment, we will use the Recife Declaration to hold our governments accountable for developing mechanisms towards improved and equitable access for every person to competent health workers and health services.

Just after the closure session of the Global Forum Marie-Paule Kieny (WHO) and Ruediger Krech (GHWA director a.i.) presented a draft role division within their partnership. GHWA will concentrate itself on advocacy at global level, convening stakeholders and accountability (e.g. monitoring and evaluating commitments made). WHO, with its normative role and technical support, will focus on education and training, equitable access to health workers (e.g. through the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel), and HRH information and planning.

Of the GHWA members and partner participating in the Forum, there were quite a few civil society organizations. As civil society we have put a lot of time and energy in urging for more synergy between WHO/HRH and GHWA. The audience was glad to see that GHWA will continue its activities (at least) until the next Global Forum that will be organized in 2016.

I also encourage WHO headquarters and WHO Regional Offices for more collaboration and information exchange, e.g. on best practices of WHO Code implementation. The audience also clearly stated that the GHWA board should take leadership.

To have this marriage blossoming, WHO and GHWA are currently looking for a new director for both GHWA and the WHO HRH Department that should rather be a good manager with some technical knowledge, than a very technical person with poor management skills. Would that be you?

Linda Mans, Wemos, MMI Network activist and coordinator of the Health workers for all and all for health workers project, was in Recife at the Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health. Other MMI Network and HW4ALL project voices from Recife: CSO commitment statement "No Progress towards Universal Health without Health Workers", presentations by Linda Mans ("A sustainable health workforce starts at home") and Remco van de Pas ("Towards sustainability in financing HRH"), blog "The Health Worker Crisis" by Nathalie Sharples and blog "A renewed agenda for, with some grey areas" by Giulia De Ponte.