In 2010, the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel (or ‘the Code’) was adopted after strong calls for joint, global measures to address the international recruitment of health personnel. In our new factsheet, we look into the key takeaways from the second Expert Advisory Group (EAG) report, which reviews the Code every five years, and some recommendations on concrete actions civil society can take.
The EAG report highlights that the Code is highly relevant in the current framework of collaboration and coherence set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and specifically the commitments to universal health coverage (UHC), of which a sustainable health workforce is an integral part.
The report also cites data that today 1 in 4 doctors, 1 in 3 dentists and 1 in 8 nurses is practicing their profession outside their home country. Second, the complexity of international health worker mobility has grown as a result of changes in the environment, such as humanitarian crises as a push factor in mobility as well as new stakeholders such as private recruitment agencies.
Raising awareness of the Code and the EAG review report will be critical for civil society organisations (CSOs) at both the global and national levels.
Read our new factsheet ‘Second review of the relevance and effectiveness of the Code (2019/2020)’
Photo: “Creative Commons ORBIS staff nurse Pam and local nurse Mary exchanging skills onboard the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital in Entebbe, Uganda” by NCVO London is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Receive our newsletter
