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Programme for Action to combat lack of personnel in the health sector (2007-2013)
This Programme for Action proposes measures at country, regional and global levels to remedy the shortage of human resources in the health sector in developing countries.
ACT
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council of 21 December 2006 entitled "A European Programme for Action to tackle the critical shortage of health workers in developing countries (2007–2013)" [COM(2006) 870 final – Not published in the Official Journal].
SUMMARY
The present Programme for Action provides for actions on three levels – country, regional and global – to respond to the human resources in health (HRH) crisis.
ACTIONS AT COUNTRY LEVEL
The objectives of the Programme for Action are fivefold at country level:
In addition, the EU must:
ACTIONS AT REGIONAL LEVEL
The Programme for Action provides that the actions at regional and global levels are coordinated by "Platforms for Action", bringing together key stakeholders and informed by Global and Regional Observatories.
Promote political leadership in Africa
In view of the particularly negative impact of the HRH crisis in Africa, the EU must support a strong African voice in the global response to the HRH crisis. In particular, the EU supports boosting the leadership of the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in regional action and building a regional platform for action.
Contribute to developing regional training resources
The EU will support actions to strengthen training capacity through the 7th Research Framework Programme (2007-2013) and its Specific International Cooperation Actions. In addition, it will promote the development of learning networks within and between regions and especially the building of “Networks of Excellence” based on the north-south and south-south links. Finally, the Task Force on eHealth for Africa, established by the Commission, working with the European Space Agency and WHO, will explore the potential of information technologies.
In addition, the EU must:
ACTIONS AT GLOBAL LEVEL
The Programme for Action stresses the need for better coordination of the international response to the HRH crisis. In particular, it proposes action at two levels:
Internal EU action
The Commission provides for measures to strengthen EU HRH planning and promote "brain circulation", i.e.:
Action at global level
The EU undertakes to mobilise funding at global level for HRH capacity-building in the developing countries. In particular, in international discussions, the EU will promote the importance of:
FINANCING
The Programme for Action stresses the need to increase predictable long-term aid to allow the beneficiary countries the necessary fiscal space to guarantee long-term investments. In addition, the Commission will develop a framework for identifying and regularly updating Member State and Commission actions on HR and compare EU funding levels with those of other donors. Finally, the Commission has decided to allocate EUR 40.3 million to the budget for the Investing in People Thematic Programme to support catalytic global and regional actions on HRH.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
The EU will support the development of a country‑level HRH monitoring and evaluation framework and will monitor EU action under the planned reporting to Parliament and Council on the Programme for Action to Confront HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
Background
This Programme for Action follows a Commission communication of December 2005 on the crisis in HRH in developing countries, which stressed the importance of a comprehensive response to this problem by the EU. This Programme for Action was approved by the Council on 14 May 2007.
Last updated: 24.07.2007