Headed by the Frontline Health Workers Coalition alongside the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Innovate, Empower, Protect: A Symposium for Shaping the Future of the Health Workforce convened policymakers, government delegates, technical experts, and advocates to engage in critical conversation around key strategies for creating a more enabling environment for all health workers.

The symposium was co-hosted by Coalition members including IntraHealth International, CARE USA, Living Goods, Johnson & Johnson, Pathfinder International, Project Hope, Seed Global Health, and Smile Train. 

"Health workers still need us to push for resources to address the myriad of complex challenges they face.” 

Coalition Chair Crystal Lander, executive vice president, Pathfinder International, introduced the conversation with recognition that: “Despite all the present gains, we know that health workers still need us to push for resources to adequately implement the policies, programs, and the research to address the myriad of complex challenges they face.” 

This statement reverberated throughout the panel discussions, as esteemed experts examined strategies to strengthen the multidisciplinary health workforce and ensure that all cadres of health workers, from facility-based to community-level, have the resources they need to provide comprehensive health services to communities, including in fragile settings. These themes will inform the Coalition’s advocacy efforts in the future, including at the upcoming UN General:

• Amplify the voices of health workers–especially women health workers

• Foster collaborative partnerships

• Prioritize long-term, sustainable investments. 

Read the full post from the Frontline Health Workers Coalition.

Call to action

In her opening remarks, IntraHealth's Tina Flores, director of the Coalition, delivered clear calls to action for governments and implementing partners. 

"We call on Member States to ensure that provisions for a robust multidisciplinary health workforce are included in all health-related mechanisms and political declarations moving forward," she said. 

Flores asked governments to take appropriate actions to ensure the implementation of health workforce commitments and to activate partners in helping them. 

"As partners ourselves, we must do more to support countries in developing, resourcing, and operationalizing effective solutions for the health workforce, including fighting gender disparities and ensuring that all health workers, rather than they migrate or stay in their country of origin, have the same protections and benefits."

IntraHealth International hosts the Frontline Health Workers Coalition and leads the secretariat.