The President of the World Medical Association (WMA), Dr. Osahon Enabulele, has called on Governments and managers of health systems to quickly resolve the mental health, burn out, and psycho-social challenges currently being faced by physicians and other health professionals in various parts of the world.
The WMA President stated this while physically attending and speaking at two different sessions of the recently concluded 5th Global Forum on Human Resource for Health organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) from April 3 – 5, 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland.
At the global forum, the WMA President who is regarded as a phenomenal global leader and a strong advocate for improved well-being and working conditions of the health workforce, spoke on “The impact of COVID-19 on the health workforce: the past, present, and future” in his first session. And on the theme, “Protecting the rights of health and care workers in times of pandemics and beyond: How to move from technical guidance to effective regulation”, in his second session.
Highlighting the challenges faced by physicians and other health professionals across the world, Dr. Enabulele particularly decried the huge impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and health system challenges on the mental health and psycho-social state of the health workforce. As well as the inability of governments and health systems’ managers to concretely and altruistically address these challenges. Which he traced to apprehension over inadequate supplies of personal protective equipment with the attendant fear of increased exposure to risk, violence against them, the stressful work routine, the crisis of brain drain, increased workload with resultant increase in burn-out of the health workforce, and increased exit from the health professions.
Furthermore, he called for provision of equitable access to mental and psycho-social care services to victims of these disabling working conditions. While charging governments and managers of health systems to proactively address the inequity in health workforce distribution and show greater political commitment. These they can achieve by prioritizing investments in the well-being, rights, safety and working conditions of the health workforce, comprehensive legal framework to protect the rights of the health workforce and reduce the incidence of violence against them. As well as strengthening the provisions and welfare of the health workforce in the evolving draft of the pandemic treaty, amongst other recommendations he articulately projected during the sessions held respectively on Monday, April 3, 2023.
The WHO Global Forum on Human Resources for Health, aimed at advancing mechanisms for protecting and safeguarding the well-being, rights and working conditions of the health workforce had in attendance; the Director General of WHO – Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Secretary General of WMA – Dr. Otmar Kloiber, other global leaders from Health Professional Associations, International Labour Organization, Global funding agencies, Member states of WHO, Health Ministers of various countries, as well as many other stakeholders.
Notably, in the welcome address by the WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adnanom Ghebreyesus welcomed all participants to the global forum and called for useful suggestions to help resolve the challenges of the health workforce. He assured that the WHO will accord greater attention to the issues of the health workforce to aid the attainment of Universal Health Coverage. He also delivered the closing remarks of the Global Forum which ended on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 with a colourful closing ceremony. While in Geneva, the WMA President is also expected to give welcome remarks and deliver lecture at an International Conference on Person Centered Medicine.
The World Medical Association (WMA) President, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, can be contacted via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Discussion1 Comment
thanks, interesting read