What is the WHPA?

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About the WHPA

The World Health Professions Alliance speaks for more than 26 million health care professionals worldwide, assembling essential knowledge and experience from the key health care professions in more than 130 countries.

WHPA was formed in 1999 and now brings together the global organizations representing the world’s dentists, nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists and physicians. We work to facilitate collaboration among the health professions and major stakeholders such as governments and international organizations, including the World Health Organization. By working in collaboration, instead of along parallel tracks, patients and health care systems benefit.

Together, the partners of the WHPA include more than 600 national member organizations, making us the key point of global access to health care professionals within the five disciplines.

WHPA Mission

The World Health Professions Alliance WHPA exists to improve global health and the quality of patient care.

One strong global voice

By acting as the global representative body for the world’s health professions through a multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach, WHPA works to develop and strengthen the contribution of the health professions to the health of the patients and communities they serve.

The WHPA is pro-active and collaborative, offering information and guidance on current health issues relevant to partners and members and providing key stakeholders – such as the World Health Organization- with practical channels to the health professions and their national associations.

Member Organisations

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of national nurses associations, representing the more than 13 million nurses working worldwide. www.icn.ch The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) is the global federation of national organisations of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists representing more than two million pharmacists around the world. www.fip.org The World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT), the global voice for physical therapists/physiotherapists, has 101 national member organisations representing over 350,000 members of the profession. www.wcpt.org The FDI World Dental Federation (FDI) is a federation of approximately 200 national dental associations and specialist groups representing more than one million dentists worldwide. www.fdiworldental.org The World Medical Association (WMA) is the global federation of national medical associations from around the world, directly and indirectly representing the views of more than nine million physicians. www.wma.net

Priority Areas

The needs and expectations of patients and our members evolve in response to the rapidly changing landscape of global health care environments.

As such, it is of utmost importance for WHPA to constantly identify new avenues of development and innovation in prioritising our work.

Our current fields of activity include:

• Public health
• Patient safety
• Counterfeit medicines
• Human rights in health
• Regulation of the health professions and collaborative practice
• Health human resources and workforce issues
• Health care systems

Core Activities

• The WHPA Leadership Forum
  WHPA convenes leaders representing the member organisations and other stakeholders in international health in a biennial WHPA Leaders’ Forum, strengthening the bond and encouraging collaboration among the five health professions in all countries and settings.
  
  
• The World Health Professions Conferences on Regulation WHPCR
  These biannual conferences shape the future of health professional regulation within the context of global health systems via multi-disciplinary and multistakeholder approaches.
  
  
• Implementing Campaigns
  • The Positive Practice Environment PPE campaign for health professionals– quality workplaces attract and retain staff, improve patient satisfaction, safety and outcomes, and deliver costeffective services.
  • Be Aware campaign to fight against counterfeit medical products and for safety of medical products. Counterfeit medical products cause harm to the patient and endanger public health in general.
    
    
• Toolkits and Guidance
  A Core Competency Framework for International Health Consultants, which provides advice in planning, assessing, implementing and evaluating health services in their own countries and abroad.
  
  • Statements, fact sheets and advocacy tools
  WHPA develops statements, fact sheets and advocacy tools on current health issues, for use in impacting policy and practices at global, national, and regional levels.

Working together for safe health care

WHPA Secretariat C/o World Medical Association BP 63 01210 Ferney Voltaire, France Tel.: +33 450 40 7575 Fax: +33 450 40 5937 Website: www.whpa.org E-mail:

© 1999 World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) Copying, downloading and distribution of material from the WHPA web page is permitted as long as credit in print is given and that the material will not be used for commercial or for-profit purposes without permission.