The world is facing an unprecedented health workforce crisis. With the World Health Organization projecting a global shortage of 11 million health workers by 2030 — a problem most acute in low- and middle-income countries — leaders and experts gathered at Health Without Borders: Building a Global Workforce for the Future, a multiday event hosted by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly, to chart a path forward.
Speakers from international organizations, government, civil society, and the private sector highlighted the urgent need to invest in workforce development, strengthen primary health care, and modernize training and credentialing systems to keep pace with demographic and digital change.
Participants emphasized that global health worker mobility must be guided by equity and ethics, with national mobility frameworks put in place to balance worker rights with health system needs. Ethical recruitment, harmonized education standards, and fair bilateral agreements can turn migration into a “win-win” for both host countries and countries of origin, ensuring that remittances, knowledge, and skills circulate back to strengthen home systems.
Digital innovation also emerged as a powerful tool to close gaps in access, training, and retention. Still, long-term progress will depend on sustained political commitment and coordinated investment.
Watch the highlights from the three-day event here.
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