IntraHealth International joins the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, the Global Health Workforce Alliance, and other partners to honor health workers April 3-9 during the fourth annual World Health Worker Week. The global event is an opportunity to mobilize communities, partners, and policy-makers to support health workers around the world, highlight health workforce challenges, and celebrate the day-to-day work and achievements of the heroes behind health care.

Strengthening the global frontline health workforce is one of the most cost-effective ways to strengthen health systems, decrease preventable deaths and illnesses, and reduce the global health security threat of pathogens such as the Ebola and Zika viruses.

“Health workers have always been at the heart of our mission,” says Laura Hoemeke, director of communications and advocacy at IntraHealth. “They are on the front lines of every epidemic, and every health issue—from infectious diseases to malnutrition to obesity—that threatens our nations, communities, or loved ones. We need a coordinated response to not only increase the number of frontline health workers available worldwide, particularly in countries with the worst health workforce shortages, but also to better support the ones we have.”

Between 2014 and 2015, over 500 health workers lost their lives in the fight against Ebola. For the countries most affected—Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone—this also represents a devastating loss of talent and skills from their health systems. These countries continue to recover from the epidemic and deal with new cases and flare ups. As the Zika virus continues its rapid spread across the Americas, communities look to their health workers to answer questions and explain how individuals can keep themselves safe. Now more than ever health workers need resources and support to keep their communities as healthy and safe as possible.

One sign that the global community is coming together to better understand and value the role of the global health workforce is in Resolution 419 in the US House of Representatives.

Introduced with bipartisan support by Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla), House Resolution 419 (H. Res. 419) calls on all relevant federal agencies in the United States to develop a coordinated, comprehensive action plan to assist low- and middle-income countries in strengthening the global frontline health workforce. IntraHealth applauds this resolution and encourages all US residents to take action by reaching out to their members of Congress to urge their support.

At the 69th World Health Assembly to be held May 23-28 in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization is scheduled to review the first global health workforce strategy: Workforce 2030. IntraHealth implores governments, donors, the private sector, and the entire global health community to support approval of this strategy and their parts to make its implementation a success.

More information, including a summary of activities by participating partners, is available on the World Health Worker Week portal of the Frontline Health Workers Coalition. The Coalition’s secretariat is housed and supported by IntraHealth International.

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