Version 2009

Handbook of WMA Policies
R-1998-04-2009 ⏐ World Medical Association
WMA RESOLUTION
ON
MEDICAL WORKFORCE
Adopted by the 50th
World Medical Assembly, Ottawa, Canada, October 1998
and amended by the 60th
WMA General Assembly, New Delhi, India, October 2009
PREAMBLE
The health of our countries depends upon keeping the population healthy. Health care is a
key right of individuals. This care is dependent upon access to highly-trained medical and
other healthcare professionals. Well-functioning health care systems depend upon these
sufficient human resources. Comprehensive and extensive planning on a national level is
required in order to ensure that a country has a medical workforce in all fields of medicine
that meets the present and future health needs of the entire population of that country.
There are currently significant shortages in the area of health human resources. These
shortages are present in all countries but are especially pronounced in developing coun-
tries where health human resources are more limited.
The problem is made more severe by the fact that many countries have not invested ade-
quately in the education, training, recruitment and retention of their medical workforce.
The ageing population in developed countries has also been reflected by an ageing medi-
cal workforce. Many developed countries address their medical workforce shortages by
employing health care professionals from developing countries to bolster their own health
care systems.
The migration of health care professionals from developing countries to developed coun-
tries has, over the past ten years, impaired the performance of health systems in develop-
ing countries. Economic realities of insufficient investments in health care and inadequate
facilities and support for health care professionals have continued to be responsible for
this migration.
The World Health Organization has recognized that the crisis of health workforce short-
ages is impeding the provision of essential, life-saving interventions. It has therefore esta-
blished structures such as the Global Health Workforce Alliance, a partnership dedicated
to identifying and implementing solutions to the health workforce problems. The WHO is
promoting the development of a cadre of medical/clinical assistants who propose to join
the medical workforce to partially address these shortages.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recognizing that health care systems require adequate numbers of qualified and com-
petent health care professionals, the World Medical Association asks all National Medical
Associations to participate and be active in addressing these requirements and to:
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R-1999-01-2021 ⏐ Seoul
Curriculum of Medical Schools World-wide
1. Call on their respective governments to allocate sufficient financial resources for the
education, training, development, recruitment and retention of physicians to meet the
medical needs of the entire population in their countries.
2. Call on their respective governments to ensure that the education, training and develop-
ment of healthcare professionals meets the highest possible standards including:
• The training and development of medical/clinical assistants where this is applica-
ble and appropriate and
• Ensuring clear definitions of scope of practice and conditions for adequate support
and supervision;
3. Call on governments to ensure that appropriate ratios are maintained between popula-
tion and the medical workforce at all levels, including mechanisms to address reduced
access to care in rural and remote areas, based on accepted international norms and
standards where these are available;
4. Take measures to attract and support individuals within their countries to enter the
medical profession and also call on their respective governments to take such action;
5. Actively advocate for programs that will ensure the retention of physicians within
their respective countries and ensure governments’ recognition of this need;
6. Call on governments to improve the health care working environment (including ac-
cess to appropriate facilities, equipment, treatment modalities and professional sup-
port), physician remuneration, physician living environment and career development
of the medical workforce at all levels;
7. Advocate for the development of transparent memoranda of understanding between
countries where migration of trained health care professionals is an issue of concern
and enlist where possible the NMA of origin and receiving NMA’s to support these
physicians.
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