WHO Says Health Worker Shortages Linked To COVID-19 Affecting Several Countries

No less than 55 countries are struggling with serious health worker shortages as they continue to seek better paid opportunities in wealthier nations that have stepped up efforts to recruit them amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on last week. According to the UN agency, African nations have been worst-hit by the phenomenon, with 37 countries on the continent facing health worker shortages that threaten their chances of achieving universal health care by 2030 – a key Sustainable Development Goals pledge. The actions of wealthy countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) come under scrutiny in the WHO alert, among other regions. Recruitment drive “Within Africa it’s a very vibrant economy that is creating new opportunities”, said Dr. Jim Campbell, the Director responsible for health worker policy at WHO. “The Gulf States have traditionally been reliant on international personnel and then some of the OECD high-income countries have really accelerated their recruitment and employment to respond to the pandemic and respond to the loss of lives, the infections, the absences of workers during the pandemic”. To help countries protect their vulnerable healthcare systems, WHO has issued an updated health workforce support...