Challenges to the Management of Human Resources for Health: 2005-2015

Abstract

The purpose of this publication is to highlight the major issues and challenges associated with human resources management in the public health sector, and to affirm the importance of these as a priority focus for the technical cooperation efforts of PAHO’s Human Resources for Health Unit and the World Health Organization (WHO) over the coming years. During 2006, WHO launched the Decade of Human Resources in Health, World Health Day has been dedicated to the honor of health workers everywhere, and the annual World Health Report this year calls attention to the need to build and sustain strong health workforces across the globe. Within this framework, an agenda for technical cooperation in human resources management in the Americas is presented, based on a series of experiences and studies carried out in various countries of the Region. This agenda encapsulates the dimensions, guidelines, and overall strategy of PAHO’s technical cooperation thrust in areas related to human resources management. The Region of the Americas is facing a double challenge. First, it is going through a time of change and adjustment to the aftereffects of reforms occurring during the 1990s. In spite of greater macroeconomic stability in the majority of the countries, the unfulfilled social promises and resulting crises have placed the credibility of democracy at risk. The quest for excellence in health, both in terms of coverage and in quality of care, is a priority goal leading to the achievement of equity and an overall improvement in the quality of life. The health worker is a privileged intermediary between the knowledge required to reach these objectives and the benefits accruable to the population as a whole, in the framework of sector-wide institutions and the plans and programs associated with the delivery of health services.