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World needs 3.5 million more health workers to deliver essential services, charity says

BMJ 2011; 343 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d6005 (Published 21 September 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;343:d6005
  1. Sophie Arie
  1. 1London

In the week in which this year’s session of the United Nations General Assembly begins, the charity Save the Children has called for a major push to secure funding to fill the global shortfall of 3.5 million health workers.

In a new report the children’s charity says that efforts to improve health worldwide in recent years have overlooked the need to boost the health workforce.

“The focus has been on inputs into the health system—drugs, vaccines, bed nets—all of which are critical,” says Save the Children’s chief executive, Jasmine Whitbread, in the report. “But without a parallel focus on recruiting, training, and retaining health workers needed these interventions will not deliver.”

The charity says that at present there is a global shortfall in funding of health …

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