Over 140 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called on the major funders in global health to prioritise international funding that supports the recruitment of health workers in resource-limited contexts.

In a joint letter signed by the organisations, they asked the funders to commit and contribute to pooled and adequate funding for long-term investments in the health workforce. The letter was sent to GAVI the Vaccine Alliance, Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM), the Global Financing Facility (GFF), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the World Health Organisation (WHO) with a copy to the European Commission’s Director-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO).

The Global Health Advocate, Myria Koutsoumpa, noted that this move would not only address shortages for the short term Covid-19 response but also build strong future health system resilience and health workforce preparedness and response capability. She also added that Africa endures 24 percent of the global burden of disease with only three percent of the global health workforce.

The group noted that although most funders have already extended additional resources to governments of low and lower-middle-income countries, however, the packages did not prioritise the recruitment of additional health personnel protective personal equipment (PPE), test kits, and programme management response support.

Source: 93.3 KFM

Photo source: Sergio Santos