The Fifth Global Forum on Human Resources for Health, which is held in Geneva, began today (Monday) with the participation of the Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Health (MOH), with a delegation headed by H.E. Dr. Fatima Bint Muhammad Al-Ajmi, MOH Undersecretary for Administrative, Financial and Planning Affairs.

Oman, as a member state of the WHO, participates in the global Forum in two sessions: lessons learned from COVID-19 and workforce development in the future presented by H.E. Dr. Fatima Bint Muhammad Al-Ajmi, MOH Undersecretary for Administrative, Financial and Planning Affairs and the health workforce investment.

A range of actors, including high-impact decision-makers, across education, finance, gender, health, labour/employment, and migration sectors are participating in the Forum.

The Forum will provide updates on progress in the implementation of the Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030, share evidence and experiences on workforce development, as well as opportunities for a post COVID-19 era that will inform the implementation of the Working for Health 2022-2030 Action Plan. It will examine the required policy solutions, investments, and multi-sectoral partnerships to address health and care workforce challenges and advance health.

The Global Forum will highlight several topics such as changing the scope of practice and introducing team-based roles is central to an effective, sustainable workforce and can be achieved, the use of technology and digital tools has taken huge steps forward – and needs to continue and expand to all countries, flexible regulation is the way forward, protecting the health and care workforce is essential, and providing political leadership starts from the top and sets the agenda throughout government and society.