Opinion: How can the world solve its shortage of health workers?

There is a growing crisis in the world: a shortage of healthcare workers. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there will be a shortage of 10 million health workers by 2030. This problem is mainly concentrated in low- and middle-income countries, where 89% of the shortage exists. Many countries struggle to meet the minimum target set by the WHO of 44.5 health workers for every 10,000 people.

The shortage is exacerbated by health workers leaving their home countries to seek better opportunities elsewhere. For example, Nigeria has seen 75,000 nurses leave since 2017, while Zimbabwe and Ghana have also experienced significant healthcare worker emigration.

High-income countries like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia contribute to the problem by recruiting healthcare workers from vulnerable countries to address their own shortages.

The WHO created a ‘red list’ in 2020 to identify countries with severe shortages and discourage high-income countries from recruiting healthcare workers from these places. The list currently includes 55 countries. Resolve to Save Lives, an organization working to prevent epidemics, collaborates with several countries on the list by providing funding, additional staff, resources, and technical support.

However, the red list is only a step towards addressing the issue. Long-term solutions must address factors such as low salaries, unsafe working conditions, and the lack of a social safety net that drive healthcare workers to leave their home countries.

Community health workers, who play a crucial role in global healthcare, often face low or no pay. Additionally, many healthcare workers lack proper protective equipment, putting their lives at risk. Stigmatization, harassment, and violence against healthcare workers also contribute to mental health problems and create a hostile work environment.

Failing to properly support and protect healthcare workers not only violates ethical obligations but also has significant economic costs. A study conducted by Resolve to Save Lives and the World Bank demonstrated the economic burden of healthcare worker COVID-19 infections.

To address this crisis, countries need to adopt a holistic approach by implementing policies to build and maintain a strong healthcare workforce, allocating resources to protect them, and being accountable for the results.

Three immediate actions countries can take include reinforcing the existing healthcare workforce, committing to support healthcare workers, and taking tangible steps to fulfill these commitments.

It is essential to prioritize the well-being and protection of healthcare workers to ensure a safer world and bridge the widening gap in the availability of healthcare workers.