Welcome to IntraHealth’s Global Health Blog, a space for open discussion on the major issues facing the global health community.  We will be sharing perspectives from the field, with a focus on the challenges and successes of  health workers as we support the building of human resources, systems strengthening and equal access to high quality health services in communities across the developing world. We find ourselves at a critical juncture where we, the global health community, must further advance human resources for health knowledge and practice.  Worldwide, the health worker shortage is over 4 million.  The impact of that number increases exponentially when you consider how many patients each missing health worker might have helped every day.  We at IntraHealth passionately believe that an appropriately trained, highly motivated, fairly compensated health worker is at the center of any functioning health system.  Supporting health workers and the systems that support them is our core work. The ultimate goal is a more efficient and effective global health workforce that will reach more people and improve health status and quality of life, especially for the poor and most vulnerable.

In launching this blog we’ve included posts on a number of subjects to give a better sense from the start of the scope of our work and of the wide impact of global health on our world.  Going forward you will be hearing from local experts in the field, from policy leaders, community health workers, patients, partner agencies, colleagues and staff in countries around the globe.

We encourage you to participate in the global health movement and in this blog, to share your ideas, to link,  share links,  follow and connect to the site and to give us feedback on your experiences, concerns and hopes in regards to global health.

To set the tone I wanted to include a link to a short video by the Global Strategy Institute of Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the National Institutes of Health because I believe his explanation of the importance of global health to each of us is excellent, precise and compelling.  Take a look. Global health truly affects all of us.  It is a global priority. Thank you for joining the conversation.