The World Health Organization (WHO) and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) jointly organized a meeting on ‘Migration of Doctors and Nurses from India: WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel’, at New Delhi on 28 August 2015. The conference was aimed at achieving a better understanding of different perspectives on the issue of international health worker migration from India, sensitize key stakeholders in India to the relevance of WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel, and ways to facilitate its implementation in India.
Speaking at the inaugural session, Mr Bhanu Pratap Sharma, Health Secretary, MOHFW acknowledged the need to build proper information system regarding migration of health personnel. “Health workforce is the biggest challenge in improving health system and status of people. To address this situation, India has designated national authority to put the WHO global code into practice,” he said.
In his address, Dr Arun Thapa, Acting WHO Representative to India reiterated WHO’s commitment to facilitate the implementation of the WHO Global Code and strengthening health workforce for moving towards universal health coverage in India.
At the meeting, the need to develop and strengthen health workforce strategies in India and information system on migration of health personnel was emphasized. During the deliberations, the WHO Global Code of Practice was recognized as a well-accepted platform to better address issues related to the migration of doctors and nurses from India. In this context, WHO highlighted its work in research on migration of health personnel to generate evidence in this area.
Mr Ali Raza Rizvi, Joint Secretary, MoHFW and the designated national authority (DNA)officer for monitoring the implementation of the WHO Code, highlighted the importance to improve information on health workforce in India. He also informed the participants that medical and nursing councils have been asked to establish live registers that will provide updated data and information on health workforce and also migration of health personnel. Other participants shared their perspectives and highlighted the need to have a coherent and collaborative approach to address the issue of migration of health personnel comprehensively.
Attended by officials from Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, international agencies, academia, civil society, professional associations and regulatory councils, the meeting saw active deliberations on the implementation of the WHO Code, health workforce situation and research findings on migration of doctors and nurses from India.