The People’s Republic of China through the China-UN Peace and Development Fund has committed to invest in the Working for Health programme to expand and transform the health workforces in four countries taking part in China’s Belt and Road initiative.
Working for Health is a joint programme leveraging the expertise and convening power of the International Labour Organization(ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Health Organization(WHO). It was established in May 2017 to stimulate and guide the anticipated creation of 40 million new health jobs and avert a projected shortfall of 18 million health workers in mostly low- and middle- income countries.
“China’s support will unlock action and investments to make universal health coverage a reality, by supporting transformative education and health jobs where they are needed most.” said Jim Campbell, Director of the Health Workforce Department at WHO. “Many countries now realise that investing in the health workforce is an investment in growing the economy but they need assistance to go from ideas to action.”
The Working for Health programme will assist the four countries to develop and implement enhanced national health workforce plans addressing health and social workforce gaps. These will create much-needed employment opportunities, particularly for women and young people. The China-UN Peace and Development Fund, hosted by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, focuses on strengthening national policy capacity to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Working for Health will also assist the countries to develop financing plans and attract investment in projects to expand and transform their health workforce.
The countries supported by this programme will be blazing a trail for other countries aiming to invest in transforming their health and social workforces. Positive gains, best practices and potential challenges will be identified, analysed and shared so all may benefit from the experience gained under this China-supported programme.