Participants in Global Policy Advisory Council on Health Workers Migration Meeting lauds RP’s health workers migration scheme

Participants in the Global Policy Advisory Council on Health Workers Migration Meeting that was held in Oslo on February 3-4, 2009 expressed their admiration for the Philippine migration scheme hailing it as a model worth emulating by both receiving and sending countries of the world.

The Global Policy Advisory Council of the Health Worker Migration Initiative (HWMI) is a partnership be-tween the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Health Workforce Alliance, and Realizing Rights. It is composed of Ministers of Health of both source and destination countries, as well as leading health, labor, and migration experts.

Philippine Ambassador to Norway Elizabeth P. Buensuceso joined Development Bank of the Philippines’ Chairperson Patricia Sto. Tomas and Department of Health HRD Director Dr. Kenneth Ronquillo in representing the Philippines at the meeting. Former Health Secretary Dr. Manuel Dayrit also attended the meeting in his capacity as HRD Director of the WHO.

Dr. Ronquillo presented a paper which detailed the Philippine experience on health workers migration management.

Participants commented on the great effort expended by the Philippine government to institutionalize structural and societal safeguards to ensure that health workers who decide to migrate are adequately protected and cared for.

The participants expressed admiration at how the Philippines has developed a cycle of management, from the initial stage of providing training and developing expertise in the medical fields, to assistance before departure, while in the destination countries and until their return to Philippine society where they are provided reintegration support such as capital and retooling skills.
Ambassador Buensuceso underscored the adoption by the Philippine government of an aggressive stance to protect the rights and promote the welfare of its migrant workers as a co-equal pillar of its foreign policy.

Also discussed during the meeting was the need to expedite action on the adoption of the WHO draft Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel.

The Code seeks to establish ethical norms in the movement of health workers migration and ensures that both sending and host countries abide by these generally agreed upon practices.

Norway presented its draft strategy on medical workers giving emphasis on its vision to become self-sufficient in supplying its own medical workers while taking into consideration the arrival of foreign medical workers.

Norway admitted to having shortages of about 40,000 workers and 10,000 nurses by 2030.