Filipinos worried about a looming crisis in public health care may find some comfort in the fact that the problem is global. The World Health Organization is dedicating the 56th World Health Day today to what it describes as “a growing health workforce crisis” in many parts of the world.
WHO experts estimate that there is a global shortage of more than four million doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, midwives and support workers. The hardest hit are developing countries, whose medical professionals are leaving in droves for better paying jobs in rich nations. WHO officials estimate that the global health workforce currently stands at around 59 million. That number can barely keep up with booming populations especially in the developing countries. Even rich nations are feeling the shortage, but can afford to import trained health workers.
The Philippines is among the biggest sources of those health workers. Doctors, nurses, midwives, caregivers, physical therapists – everyone is in a rush to leave and start earning foreign currency. While the phenomenon has boosted the peso, it has also forced many private hospitals to shut down. Public health care is inadequate enough without the exodus of health professionals. Soon health care may become a luxury in this country.
“Decades of cost-cutting and under-investment in health have… resulted in truly terrible working conditions for many in the health sector,” the WHO website said. “The morale and performance of overburdened, underpaid and unsupported health workers have sharply declined. As a result, many health workers feel they can no longer continue under these conditions.”
Even in the top hospitals in Metro Manila, people are starting to feel the shortage. Fewer health workers mean longer waiting times for diagnosis, treatment or laboratory tests. Professional fees also rise as demand for health care far exceeds the supply. It is often said that health is wealth. Unless the government addresses this workforce crisis soon, only the wealthy will be able to stay healthy. –Philippine Star
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth
Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week
Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
