Health, a shared responsibility

Wemos, 13 October 2010. At their annual regional committee meeting in Moscow, European member states adopted a World Health Organization (WHO) resolution. The heart of its message was that health is so essential that it should not be restricted to the domain of the Ministry of Health but also integrated into the policies of other ministries. Wemos endorses this message wholeheartedly!

When considering the resolution, European member states will examine how they can improve the coordination mechanisms between the policy plans of the Ministry of Health and those of other ministries such as Social Affairs and Employment. This method is already widely implemented in the Netherlands.

Wemos is committed to improving the process of policy coordination between the Dutch ministries. An example of this is the government’s policy to tackle the shortage of health workers in the Netherlands and abroad. Recruitment of foreign health professionals to the Netherlands may seem a convenient way to solve our deficit, but does not always benefit those countries that have to deal with the brain drain on their own health sector.

Wemos has challenged the Dutch delegation that attended the session in Moscow to pursue policy coordination between the various Dutch ministries when implementing the newly adopted WHO code of conduct (on recruiting foreign health workers). The aim is to prevent developing countries losing their already short supply of health professionals to the West. The Dutch delegation has taken up the challenge and called on other member states in Moscow to do the same.

The resolution adopted in Moscow endorses the importance of Wemos' approach to examining the policies of different ministries for their coherency and adverse effects on health in developing countries.

Read the resolution Health in foreign policy and development cooperation: public health is global health.

(source: Wemos Website)