Statement made at the 78th World Health Assembly on 24 May 2025
Agenda item 13.3: Universal Health Coverage (UHC)—Primary Care
Honourable Chair, Distinguished Delegates,
Four organisations supporting this statement are members of the World Health Professions Alliance, representing over 41 million dentists, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists and physicians.
UHC is integral to achieving health for all, yet progress is threatened by massive funding cuts currently ravaging the global health ecosystem, compounding the deleterious effects of long-term de-prioritization of health services by governments.
Global health workforce shortages persist, albeit uneven progress, and recent funding cuts have caused job losses and significant training disruptions. This risks migration of qualified staff and difficult working conditions and higher risks of workplace violence for remaining staff, threatening the achievement of UHC and PHC.
The resolution “Strengthening health financing globally” seeks to orient health financing towards a more sustainable and efficient model. Investing in health professionals is a cost-effective solution because they can ensure consistent and safe care delivery through evidence-based practices delivered within strict regulatory frameworks and codes of ethics. In unregulated environments, there is an increased risk of inconsistent care, errors, and compromised patient safety. The inevitable downstream costs far outweigh the investment in a highly-educated health professional workforce.
Interprofessional collaboration, outlined in WHPA’s policy statement, can help reduce healthcare costs by minimizing duplication, preventing errors and improving continuity of care through multidisciplinary teamwork.
As policy makers seek efficiencies in health financing, we emphasize that long-term investments in health professionals are a cost-effective intervention to deliver improved patient outcomes and progress towards UHC.(1)
Constituency statement made on behalf of:
- International Council of Nurses
- International Pharmaceutical Federation
- World Medical Association
- World Confederation of Physical Therapy (World Physiotherapy)
- International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (IFPMA)
- International Federation of Healthcare Engineering (IFHE)
- International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science (IFBLS)
- The Network: Towards Unity for Health
- International Hospital Federation (IHF)