Achieving the MDGs by Investing in Human Resources for Health

With only five years left before the 2015 target of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in September 2010 the UN will convene a high-level MDG Summit, which will develop a concrete action agenda for achieving the MDGs. Realizing the health-related MDGs requires far greater focus on and investments in the health workforce of developing countries. The Health Workforce Advocacy Initiative has consolidated evidence on the connections between scaling up the health workforce and achieving the MDGs, and proposed specific commitments that leaders should incorporate into the MDG action agenda on the health workforce and on developing equitable, accountable health systems – commitments that are vitally important if the MDGs are to be achieved. These commitments relate to the need to:

• Commit to health workforce targets required to achieve the MDGs;
• Significantly increase health workforce and health system investments;
• Develop and implement robust and comprehensive health workforce strategies;
• Develop participatory, inclusive, and effective accountability mechanisms for health services; and
• Enable poor, marginalized, and remote populations to access health services.

• Read the full report, Achieving the MDGs by Investing in Human Resources for Health
• Read the full Executive Summary and Recommendations
• Read the abridged Executive Summary and Recommendations