2 March 2016: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the establishment of a Commission on Health, Employment and Economic Growth, which will aim to address shortages of health workers in low and middle-income countries and stimulate the creation of health and social sector jobs, also contributing to inclusive economic growth. The Commission’s work has the broader aim of contributing to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Although the global economy is predicted to create approximately 40 million new health sector jobs by 2030, the jobs will be created mostly in middle and high-income countries, according to the UN. Low and lower-middle income countries will still face a shortage of 18 million health workers.
The Commission is expected to propose multi-sectoral responses and institutional reforms to ensure that investments in health employment will result in benefits across the SDGs and progress towards universal health coverage (UHC). The Commission will also: identify innovative sources of financing and conditions for maximizing socio-economic returns from investments in health and social sector employment; analyze the risks of unequal distribution of health workers and assess potential adverse and beneficial effects of international mobility and global and regional imbalances; and generate political commitment from governments and partners to implement the Commission’s proposed actions.
The Commission will be co-chaired by François Hollande, President of France, and Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretary-General Angel Gurría, and International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General Guy Ryder will serve as the co-vice chairs. Approximately 25 other Commissioners will be appointed from the employment, health and foreign affairs sectors of government. Representatives from health care professional associations, academia, civil society, trade unions and international organizations are also expected to join the Commission, which will seek a balance of geographic, policy and technical expertise.
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) requested the UN Secretary-General to “explore steps to meet the global shortfall of trained health workers” in Resolution 70/183. The Resolution also underscored the importance of investing in employment in the health sector as a contribution to broader socioeconomic development and implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The Commission will hold its first meeting on 23 March 2016, planning to deliver its final report during the 71st session of the UNGA in September 2016. [UN Press Release] [Press Briefing] [WHO Press Release]