Secretary-General Appoints Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of a Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth.

The global economy is projected to create around 40 million new health sector jobs by 2030, mostly in middle- and high-income countries.  Despite this growth, there is a projected shortage of 18 million health workers in low- and lower-middle-income countries.  The Commission is tasked with proposing actions to redress these inequities, and stimulate and guide the creation of health and social sector jobs for inclusive economic growth.

"Having a sufficient number of health workers responsive to population needs and well-distributed across the world will be critical to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and to addressing the growing challenges to global public health security," said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  "I expect this Commission to make an important contribution towards the achievement of Universal Health Coverage, the creation of decent jobs, and to inclusive and transformative economic growth.”

The Commission had been established following United Nations General Assembly resolution A/RES/70/183, which recognized that “investing in new health workforce employment opportunities may also add broader socioeconomic value to the economy and contribute to the implementation for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and requested the Secretary-General to “explore steps to meet the global shortfall of trained health workers”.

The Commission will be co-chaired by François Hollande, President of France, and Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa.

Approximately 25 Commissioners will soon be appointed to provide a balance of policy, technical and geographical expertise, from the education, employment, health and foreign affairs sectors of government, as well as representation from international organizations, academia, health-care professional associations, civil society and trade unions.

The Commission will hold its first meeting on 23 March, and will deliver its final report in the margin of the seventy-first regular session of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

For more information about the Commission, please visit www.who.int/hrh/com-heeg/.