Resolution on health workforce policies, 57th Meeting, EUR/RC57/R1

Regional Committee for Europe, Fifty-seventh session (Belgrade, Serbia, 17–20 September 2007)

Recalling World Health Assembly resolutions WHA57.19 and WHA58.17 on the international migration of health personnel, the Regional Committee urged the Member States:

• to improve and expand the information and knowledge base on the health workforce at country level, where appropriate in order to strengthen information systems, encourage research and build capacities in policy analysis, planning and implementation related to human resources for health;
• to develop, embed and mainstream policies concerning human resources for health as a component of health systems development, and to take responsibility for the development of human resources plans and strategies relevant to the needs of the country including a balanced distribution of the workforce within countries, ensuring their implementation;
• to assess the trends in and impact of health workforce migration in order to identify and act on effective migration-related policy options, including establishing agreements with other countries to address the movement of health workers, based on the principles of transparency, ethics, fairness and mutual benefits;
• to orient, where appropriate, workforce planning towards achievement of health for all, in primary health care as a first step.