Global Health Policy Forum discusses crisis of health workforce, social protection and mental health in developing countries.

On 11 March 2010 EPHA - on behalf of Action for Global Health (AfGH) network - co-chaired the sixth Global Health Policy Forum. The meeting was to present an update on the process and prospects on Global Health Communication, discuss the High Level Global Health event in June, crisis of health workforce and mental health in developing countries.

Global Health Communication
 recently, the latest draft of the communication and the accompanying 3 staff working documents went to the interservice consultation;
 the communication is to be presented to the international community on the World Health Day on 7 April;
 finally, the communication is to be presented at the High Level Global Health event in June.

High Level Global Health Event
 the event is to take place in Brussels on 10-11 June;
 the first day is to gather senior representatives of the EU Member States, senior officials of the brussels-based organisations and institutions to discuss the issues of governance, health as a human right, access to medicines and so forth;
 conclusions of th efirst day are to be presented on 11 June to the three commissioners - DG Development, DG Sanco and DG Research in order to get them to endorse an EU Pact on Global Health (the pact to be worked on soon);
 next week the invitation for the event will be circulated.

Having mentioned the event to come, Frazer Goodwin (EPHA/AfGH) updated the participants on the event that took place on 2 March - the AfGH High Level Cross Europe Conference "Delivering the Right to Health with the Health Millennium Development Goals", bringing to the attention a number of positive issues and impact it evoked (i.e. Commissioner Piebalgs support for the right to health).

Crisis of Health Workforce in Developing Countries

Steve Lewis from Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) gave a presentation on health workers shortages in developing countries.

Having identified global and chronic shortage of 4 million health workers in 57 countries (most severe in Sub-Saharan Africa), he gave an overview of reasons for this to consider, such as:
 more attractive pay and conditions in private and NGO health sector in developing countries;
 poor working conditions in public health sector;
 western training model for health workforce meaning slows in-country capacity building;
 HIV reduced size of health workforce and increased workload;
 health systems strengthening did not prioritized health workforce shortages;
 the problem is not only about training more or adding more money. Rather, it’s about resources distribution (rural areas), retention, motivation and working conditions.

Therefore, VSO supports developing countries in terms of:
 strengthening human resources for health;
 raising standards of care;
 encouraging circular migration (of health workers, ideas and knowledge) and so-called brain gain;
 encouraging the MDG Contracts and International Health Partnerships and related Initiatives (IHP+);
 recognising a crucial role of Code of Coduct for the recruitment of foreign health workforce;
 recognising an importance of tax revenues.

Social Protection Schemes

Save the Children gave a presentation on the role of cash transfers in tackling child mortality. Hereby, cash transfers are defined as predictable, regular transfers of money (as part of the broader package of interventions) paid to individuals by government for purpose of fighting poverty and poverty-related ill health.

It has been stated that social protection schemes can tackle many of determinants of child mortality, such as access to primary health care, medicines, women’s empowerment and so forth.

Mental Health in Developing Countries

Representatives of WHO Non-communicable Diseases Department and University of Madrid introduced a subject of Integrating Mental Health within Health and Development Agenda. Although highly disabling (DALYs) and highly prevalent worldwide, neuropsychiatric conditions remain neglected to a great extend due to their low mortality ratio. Significant proportion of these conditions has been found in low- and middle-income countries. WHO has prepared a report on Mental Health in Development, which is to be published soon.

A synergy has been made between developing and developed countries, as it is almost everywhere that we are struggling to provide essential and greatly needed care through existing services; care that is costly-effective, affordable and acceptable.

For more information

DG Sanco Health Workforce

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 A Human Right’s Perspective on Poverty and Mental Health in the European Union
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