The World Health Organization and the development of human resources of the health system

: Health workforce is among the main components of the health care system. The performance of the latter depends on the knowledge, competence and motivations of the various categories of health workers. The task of the World Health Organization is to analyze the main problems related to health workforce and to help member-states overcome these problems. An other task is to facilitate intercountry comparisons. To attain these objectives, WHO has developed a conceptual framework, taking into account elements such as the labour market, the health care system, the policies and macro-factors (economic, socio-demographic). Among the main issues related today to health workforce, one can quote: the numbers and distribution of health workers, their migration, their involvement into the field of public health, the contents of their training, and, finally, the increased risk factors they are challenging.