World Health Day April 7, 2006 spotlight on health workforce crisis 
7 April 2006 -- An acute shortage of health workers is having a devastating impact on many countries' ability to fight disease and improve health, according to
The world health report 2006 published today, World Health Day. The report outlines the need for more investment in the health workforce and sets out a 10-year plan to address the crisis.
Heroes for health 
WHO/Igor Sapozhnikov
Saadat Djoldosheva, head of the Kirov health centre in Uzgen, a remote region of Kyrgyzstan
The theme for World Health Day – on 7 April 2006 – is "Working together for health". In this feature, health workers from around the world tell their stories.
These are men and women who save lives every day, despite difficult conditions and inadequate resources. This feature focuses on ordinary people doing extraordinary things – the dedicated and hard-working
Heroes for health.
Europe
Working for health in Kyrgyzstan and Finland 
Eastern Mediterranean
Working for health in the aftermath of the South Asia earthquake 
South-east Asia
Working for health in Kumuli village, Bangladesh 
Africa
Working for health in Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo World Health Day 2006: Working together for health
Health workers - the people who provide health care to those who need it - are the heart of health systems. But around the world, the health workforce is in crisis - a crisis to which no country is entirely immune. The results are evident: clinics with no health workers, hospitals that cannot recruit or keep key staff.
Dr Tim Evans
There is a chronic global shortage of health workers, as a result of decades of underinvestment in their education, training, salaries, working environment and management. This has led to a severe lack of key skills, rising levels of career switching and early retirement, as well as national and international migration.
In sub-Saharan Africa, where all the issues mentioned above are combined with the HIV/AIDS pandemic, there are an estimated 750 000 health workers in a region that is home to 682 million people. By comparison, the ratio is ten to 15 times higher in OECD countries, whose ageing population is putting a growing strain on an over-stretched workforce.
Solutions to this crisis must be worked out at local, national and international levels, and must involve governments, the United Nations, health professionals, non-governmental organizations and community leaders.
There is no single solution to such a complex problem, but ways forward do exist and must now be implemented. For example, some developed countries have put policies in place to stop active recruitment of health workers from severely understaffed countries. Some developing countries have revised their pay scales and introduced non-monetary incentives to retain their workforce and deploy them in rural areas. Education and training procedures have been tailored to countries' specific needs. Community health workers are helping their communities to prevent and treat key diseases. Action must be taken now for results to show in the coming years.
In 2006, World Health Day (celebrated annually on 7 April), will be devoted to the health workforce crisis. On this day around the globe, hundreds of organizations will host events to draw attention to the global health workforce crisis and celebrate the dignity and value of working for health. We invite you to join with WHO and other organizations to celebrate World Health Day 2006. Together, we can make a difference.
Dr Tim Evans,
Assistant Director-General
Evidence and Information for Policy,
World Health Organization