Over a year into the pandemic, health systems face the triple challenge of responding to COVID-19, sustaining essential health services and addressing vaccine roll-out requirements. Throughout 2020, teams working across WHO in innovative and collaborative ways produced a strong library of guidance and tools to support Member States in responding. As we strive to make the International Year of Health and Care Workers one of transformative action, critical attention must focus on:
- Identifying, sharing and learning from country and regional adaptations and experiences;
- Highlighting prevalent and persisting issues and challenges that require additional attention and innovative response;
- Promoting an overall vision for sustainable health workforce investment, in line with GPW and SDG (UHC) priorities; and
- Catalysing political commitment and action to protect and invest in health workers.
The Action Series consists of three episodes, conducted between May to July 2021, focused on the interlocking themes: Protect. Invest. Together. The episodes are designed to spark knowledge sharing, dialogue, and partnerships that generate value for countries in defining actions and strategies to sustain their responses and to put in place architectures that increase health security and systems capacity.