4-8 April 2022 is “World Health Worker Week”, and the promotion of this “celebration” of health workers has started already, with Tweets (see #WHWWeek) and with the announcements of webinars, “testimonial campaigns” and more. This is all great and helpful for advancing the cause of health workers. So watch out for what’s up, and please share your own calls, statements and announcements.

I just cannot support this year’s WHWWeek slogan “Build the Health Workforce Back Better”. And I have also some problems with calling to “#actforhealthworkers”. Health workers should also act themselves for their rights and for the rights of those they care for (and be empowered to do so), and we should act together for the promotion of health for all and for the change it needs to build a better world.

So I posted two simple Tweets today, using my privileged access to the HW4All Twitter handle, as follows:

World Health Worker Week
#WHWWeek 4-8 April 2022

In times of deep societal and political transformation, “building back better” is not an option, also not for #healthworkers. Will 2022 bring the breakthrough in moving from celebrations to political action?

see https://twitter.com/HW4AllCoalition/status/1509759861223043075

Feel free to react to these Tweets, expressing your support or opposition. And I invite you to read again the “Political Declaration” that the re-emerging Health Workers for All Coalition issued one year ago. Hopefully the declaration is still an inspiration for those who promote change and not restauration.

Thomas Schwarz, MMI Network
Co-host of the HW4All Secretariat
Health Workers For All Coalition

Illustration: WHO Website