WMJ 03 2010 - World Medical Association

WMA news
tion were discussed and a special focus was
placed on how to assure quality of care and
education. Another discussion point was the
financing of national health care systems.
None of the international and multilateral
donors report how much money from vertical
programmes is allocated to human resources
in health and to education. Money
that is not reported money cannot be monitored
and managed.
The participants of the Seminar in Reykjavik
on Human Resources for Health and
the Future of Health Care last year defined
ideas to facilitate WMA policy development
in this area. The WMA Advocacy
Working Group has considered the opportunity
to collect best practices. Task shifting
remains as a monitoring item of the Working
Group.
In March 2009, WMA was invited to take
part in the planning process of the next
Conference on Workplace Violence in
the Health Sector, which is scheduled
to take place from 27-29 October, 2010
in Amsterdam. The event is supported by
the Global Health Workforce Alliance
(GHWA), WHO, International Labour
Organisation (ILO), the International
Council of Nurses (ICN), Public Services
International (PSI) and other relevant
health organizations.
WHO is in the final stage of the development
of guidelines on retention strategies
for health professionals in rural areas. The
objective is to attract and retain
health care professionals in rural
areas. The guidelines will be based
on three pillars: educational and
regulatory incentives, monetary
incentives and management,
environment and social support.
Decision makers on the national
and local levels and health facilities
should receive evidence
on the impact and effectiveness
of various retention strategies
that have been tried and tested.
In November 2009 WHO, together
with the Asian-Pacific
Action Alliance on Human
resources for Health (AAAH),
held a conference to discuss with
governments in Asia this topic
in general and, in particular,
how the guidelines need to be
adapted to be better accepted by
governments.
WMA participates as a member
of steering groups in two projects
commissioned by the European
Union on the Mobility and Migration
of Health Professionals. One project
is led by the European Health Care Management
Association and the other by the
Research Institute of the German Hartmann
Bund, a private physicians organization.
The general objective of the research
projects is to assess the current trends in
mobility and migration of health professionals
to, from, and within the European
Union, including their reasons
for moving. Research will also
be conducted in non-European
sending and receiving countries,
but the focus lies within
the EU. This research project
is a medium-scale collaborative
project with a goal of facilitating
informed policy decisions
on health systems by developing
a scientific evidence base related
to the impact of mobility
of health professionals.
In January 2011 the Global Health Workforce
Alliance will organise the 2nd Global
Forum on Human Resources in Health
(HRH) in Thailand. WMA is part of the
thematic focus committee for this event. In
an initial meeting, two main themes were
proposed: improving quantity and quality
of health workforce for equitable access to
primary health care within a robust health
system and financing HRH in the light of
the global financial crisis.
1.4 Counterfeit Medical Products
Counterfeit medicines are manufactured
which are below established standards of
safety, quality and efficacy. They are deliberately
and fraudulently mislabeled with
respect to identity and/or source. Counterfeiting
can apply to both brand name and
generic products and counterfeit medicines
may include products with the correct ingredients
but fake packaging, with the
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