World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA)

Working together for safe health care

About WHPA

The global organisations representing the world’s nurses, pharmacists and physicians joined forces in 1999, creating a unique alliance to address global health issues – the World Health Professions Alliance. In 2005, they were joined by the global representative organisation of the dental profession. Dentists, nurses, pharmacists and physicians deliver health care to individuals, families and communities regardless of their colour, creed, gender, religion or political affiliation. The World Health Professions Alliance, speaking for more than 23 million health care professionals worldwide, assembles essential knowledge and experience from the key health care professions. The WHPA aims to facilitate collaboration between key health professionals and major international stakeholders such as governments, policy makers and the World Health Organization. By working in collaboration, instead of along parallel tracks, the patient and health care system benefit.

Member Organisations

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of national nurses' associations in 129 countries, representing the 13 million nurses working worldwide. Founded in 1899, ICN works to ensure quality nursing care for all, sound health policies globally, the advancement of nursing knowledge, and the presence worldwide of a respected nursing profession and a competent and satisfied nursing workforce. www.icn.ch     The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) is the global federation of 114 national organisations of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists. Pharmacists are health professionals dedicated to improving the access to and value of appropriate medicine use. www.fip.org     The FDI World Dental Federation (FDI) is the authoritative, worldwide voice of dentistry with more than 150 member associations in 134 countries around the world, representing more than 900,000 dentists internationally. Its main roles are to bring together the world of dentistry; to represent the dental profession of the world and to stimulate and facilitate the exchange of information across all borders with the aim of optimal oral health for all people. www.fdiworldental.org     The World Medical Association (WMA) is the global federation of national medical associations, representing millions of physicians worldwide. Its membership is made up of national medical associations from around the world, directly and indirectly representing the views of more than seven million physicians. The WMA was founded in 1946 and endeavours to achieve the highest possible standards of medical science, education, ethics and health care for all people. In order to achieve this ideal, the WMA is active in the fields of policy development and the setting of professional standards. www.wma.net

Priorities and Actions

WHPA is focused on the following key priorities for improved global health care: Health as a human right As health professionals, all WHPA members support and promote the principle of health as a basic human right. This includes the right to access safe and appropriate health care for all people of the world. Patient safety Health care interventions are intended to benefit the public, but due to the complex combination of processes, technologies and human interactions there is an inevitable risk that adverse events will happen. The WHPA is working actively to improve systems and therefore reduce such incidents. Alliance partners are also acting together on other issues of patient safety, including the presence of counterfeit medicines, anti-microbial resistance and the fight against HIV/AIDS. Global tobacco control The WHPA encourages governments to ratify and implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This includes the developing of policies that ban tobacco advertising and promotion; require prominent and significant tobacco warnings on all tobacco products; ban smoking in public places and commercial airline flights; provide public education campaigns against tobacco use; and encourage tobacco farmers to shift to crop substitution. WHPA also promotes an active role for health professionals in tobacco control, both on the clinical care level and on the association level where advocacy is key.

The WHPA Leaders’ Forum

Better health worldwide can only be achieved through collaboration, communication and dialogue to explore and exchange new approaches and methodologies. One of WHPA’s important contributions to this is to bring together leaders representing the member organisations and other stakeholders in international health in a biennial WHPA Leaders’ Forum, strengthening the bond and encouraging collaboration between the four health professions in all countries and settings.

Founding Organisations

WHPA is dedicated to continuing its role in addressing global health issues. The Alliance’s strategic orientation for the future will involve both proactive work on specific initiatives and responsive action to issues as they unfold. These issues include: ethics, equity and access to health care, patient safety, tobacco control, strengthening health professionals’ involvement on policy and health human resources planning. With a forward looking vision and collaborative spirit, the Alliance partners have committed to taking an unprecedented proactive role to deliver improved health care to populations worldwide.

Working together for safe health care

The World Health Profession Alliance (WHPA), 3 Place Jean Marteau, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland Tel +41 22 908 0100 Fax +41 22 908 0101 Website www.whpa.org E-mail

For further information contact Linda Carrier-Walker Tel : (+41 22) 908 0100  -  fax :  (+41 22) 908 0101  -  email:  Web site  www.icn.ch

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