PH Continues to Push for Equity and Health Workforce
in Pandemic Treaty Negotiations
First Secretary Jeff Valdez delivers the joint statement of the Group for Equity on the subject of Health and Care Workforce during the third day of the Sixth Meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body at the WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Geneva PM photo)
GENEVA 21 July 2023 –The Philippines delivered the joint statement of the Group for Equity on the subject of Health and Care Workforce during the 6th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response also known as the Pandemic Treaty.
The Group for Equity recognized health and care workers as the “most important component of health systems” and called for a dedicated article in the Pandemic Treaty that includes a clear reference to established instruments on international recruitment, investment in training in developing Member States, respect for labor standards, human rights and non- discrimination, among others.
“The WHO projects a global shortfall of up to 18 million health workers by 2030 and in the developed world, a large part of the gap in supply will be sourced from developing countries,” First Secretary Jeff Valdez of the Philippine Permanent Mission in Geneva said. “We would therefore welcome stronger language that would help ensure that developing Member States are able to retain the required number of health workers, especially during pandemics,” he added.
The Group for Equity in the Pandemic Treaty negotiations include developing countries such as Argentina, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Namibia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania and Thailand. END
For more information, visit https://www.genevapm.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.facebook.com/PHinGeneva/ or https://www.instagram.com/phingeneva/.