Universal Health Coverage

New ILO Report: The World Needs More Rural Health Workers, A Lot More

May 2015 by Aanjalie Collure
TAGS: Aanjalie Collure, Access, Health Services, Health Workers, Health Workforce, ILO, Rural, Universal Health Care, Universal Health Coverage

Aanjalie CollureOn April 27, a new report released by the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) made a distressing finding: without adequate numbers of health workers, especially in rural areas, more than half of the world’s rural population—and more than three-quarters of the rural population in Africa—will go without access to effective health care in 2015.

The report, entitled Global Evidence on Inequities in Rural Health Protection, was the ILO’s response to observable trends in economic disinvestment and neglect in rural health systems around the world. Now, with this report indicating that nearly 56% of the world’s rural population—and 83% of Africa’s rural population—live without critical health care access, the ILO has provided powerful evidence to demonstrate why strengthening the rural health workforce is imperative to filling this gap. Read more »

Thank a Health Worker—Unsung Heroes of Global Health

April 2014 by Ariel Pablos-Méndez, guest blogger
TAGS: Ariel Pablos-Méndez, Health Workers, Universal Health Coverage, USAID

This post originally appeared on the Huffington Post.

When was the last time you thanked your health care provider? We often forget how much care, guidance, and support they give, and the sacrifices they make to restore us to good health. Health workers—whether a doctor, nurse, midwife, or physician’s assistant—are an integral part of a well-functioning health system and necessary for the delivery of quality health care not only in the United States, but all around the world. As the world comes together to celebrate World Health Worker Week, we are reminded of the critical role health workers play both in the developed world as well as some of the poorest countries plagued with an unimaginable shortage of health services and limited access to care. Read more »

Five Key Steps to Making the Health Workforce a Post-MDG Priority

April 2014 by Pape Gaye
TAGS: Community Health Workers, Health Systems, Health Workers, mHealth, Millennium Development Goals, Pape Gaye, Universal Health Coverage

This post originally appeared on VITAL, the blog of IntraHealth International.

Pape GayeThis is a pivotal year for the international development community.

Fourteen years ago, world leaders gathered at the United Nations headquarters and set eight major goals to reduce extreme poverty and improve lives around the world. Those Millennium Development Goals provided a shared blueprint that unified the global community and accelerated progress like never before. The deadline for the goals is 2015—just around the corner.

The big question now is this: What development goals will we set next? And how can we make even faster progress toward global health and well-being? Read more »

I Counted, There Were 14 Health Workers

March 2014 by Doris Mwarey
TAGS: Doris Mwarey, Health Workers, Kenya, Universal Health Coverage

Even though I ended up in the hospital on my trip to the US, I was glad I tried the local cuisine.

I had flown from my home country of Kenya into Baltimore, Maryland, to meet with my colleagues at IMA World Health. I thoroughly enjoyed an IMA staff picnic (where I tried crabmeat for the first time) and will cherish the fun I had with my coworkers—with most of whom I had only worked with virtually. Read more »

On the Rocky Road to Universal Health Coverage

September 2013 by Pape Gaye
TAGS: Family Planning, Health Workers, Pape Gaye, Universal Health Coverage

This post originally appeared on the Global Health Council blog.

Pape GayeIf you look at the regions of the world that have made the greatest progress in family planning—India and Bangladesh come to mind—you will see that all of their strategies have included strong community health workforces. That’s because the role of the health worker is crucial.

We in the field of global health know that we have unfinished business when it comes to family planning. Globally, the use of modern contraception rose sluggishly between 1990 and 2012, from 54% to 57% over 22 years. Today 800 women will die due to causes related to pregnancy or childbirth, partly because they do not yet have access to or freedom to use the family planning methods they want and need. The number of children under five who will die is much higher—29,000 every day, mostly due to preventable causes. Read more »

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