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Every year the World Health Organization (WHO) highlights a particular health topic with the publication of the World Health Report launched at the World Health Day celebration on 7 April 2006. This year’s theme was unusual in that it did not focus on a particular illness or health problem but on the delivery of care itself, by the tens of millions of people who work in the health care systems throughout the world. This includes not only the front-line members of the team—physicians, nurses, paramedical workers and pharmacists—but also laboratory and technical assistants and health administrators, managers, economists, accountants and other support workers. Individually and together they make a vital contribution towards saving lives and improving the health of the world’s population.

“Working Together for Health” is the response to a growing crisis in workforce numbers and morale in the health services. Expanding populations, more sophisticated treatments and an increasing demand for health care has led to a serious global workforce shortage. While there are around 39.5 million health service providers and over 19.5 million management and support workers globally, it is estimated that there is a shortage of more than 4 million doctors, midwives, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, technicians and support workers. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region the shortfall is even more severe; there are currently more than 2 million workers and an immediate need for a further 2 million. Health workers feel overburdened and under-remunerated and morale is at an all-time low. This leads to an increasing loss of health workers who feel they cannot continue in the system. Investment in human resources development is urgently needed to sustain and replenish the workforce.

The development of human resources for health has been a major part of the work of the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO). Huge strides have been made in medical education, for example. EMRO was a pioneer in the international movement towards more community-orientated training curricula and in promoting medical training in national languages as well as facilitating unique leadership development and health management training courses.

“Working Together for Health” marks the beginning of an entire decade of promotion of human resources development. WHO will be assisting Member States to address the technical and political challenges of developing the health workforce towards improving health systems and population health needs. By continuing to publish peer-reviewed research from around the Region, the Eastern Mediterranean health journal will make an important contribution both to the education and professional development of health workers and to the evidence base on which high-quality planning decisions are made.