Task Force on Migration - Health Worker Migration Policy Initiative
WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel
The Sixty-third World Health Assembly unanimously passed a resolution to adopt the voluntary WHO global Code of practice on the international recruitment of health personnel. With this step, the world's nations acknowledge the global dimension and complexities of the health workforce crisis and the interconnected nature of both the problems and the solutions.
The Health Worker Migration Policy Initiative (HWMI) is dedicated to monitoring health worker flows and issue recommendations to WHO for an International Code of Practice, as called for by resolutions WHA57.19 and WHA58.17.
HWMI, a partnership of the Global Health Workforce Alliance (The Alliance), WHO and Realizing Rights, was formally established in May 2007 to address the critical global challenge of health worker migration. This Alliance Task Force on Migration promotes and support implementation of bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements and other policy innovations on health worker migration in order to maximize the development benefits of health worker migration and minimize its negative impacts.
The HWMI is composed of the Health Worker Migration Global Policy Advisory Council, whose secretariat is Realizing Rights, and the Technical Working Group, whose secretariat is WHO. Among its key activities, the Policy Advisory Council and the Technical Working Group both support the lead role of WHO in the development, negotiation and implementation of the proposed Global Code of Practice for Health Worker Migration.
The HWMI focus is on
- conducting assessments of bilaterals, codes and agreements underway; and
- supporting countries in the development of policy to address health worker migration as needed.
HWMI also supports the WHO in development, negotiation and implementation of the draft code of practice.
This Task Force is co-chaired by Mary Robinson, President of Realizing Rights and Dr. Francis Omaswa, former Executive Director of the Alliance.
