Leaders Chart a New Vision for the Health Workforce at UNGA80: Event Recap

“Investments in health workers not only improve health outcomes, but also contribute to stronger markets… building a resilient health workforce is a business imperative,” said Tina Flores, Executive Director of the Frontline Health Workers Coalition at A New Vision for the Health Workforce: Addressing NCDs, global health security, and emergencies. Held on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly by the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, CARE USA, Johnson & Johnson, Living Goods, Project HOPE, Seed Global Health, Smile Train, CMMB, Operation Smile, Partners In Health and Global Communities, the high-level event convened more than 300 government officials, funders, advocates and global implementers from 60 countries in-person and virtually.

Across the discussions, participants emphasized investing in primary healthcare as the foundation of resilient health systems, anchored in well-trained, protected, and retained health workers. Partners should pursue diversified catalytic financing and long-term, government-led partnerships, shaping and leveraging tools like AI to drive productivity, not contribute additional burden.

In his remarks, the Honorable Atty. Cacdac, Secretary of the Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers highlighted that 581,000 of the country’s 960,000 licensed health professionals work abroad, weakening domestic health systems. This prompted the government to catalyze more robust training, ensure fair compensation and supportive working conditions, while promoting global reform around ethical recruitment principles. The Minister urged for stronger accountability, country-led co-investment, and knowledge sharing to bolster the world’s most vulnerable health systems. 

Rwanda’s Honorable Minister Nsanzimana, in his remarks, presented the country’s 4x4 Reform, which aims to quadruple the number of registered health providers and address a severe gap in primary care coverage. Thanks to investments in accessible education, significant strides are being made. He further stressed that ambition, grounded in local needs of communities and health workers, drives sustainable change. 

Similarly, Dr. Gregory Ganda, County Director for Health of Kisumu County, Kenya, championed the legal incorporation of community health workers into national health systems. The strategy has been successful in Kenya, where community health workers are now paid and protected legally through the government. Dr. Ganda asserted that this is a necessary aspect of sustained, holistic support for health workers, declaring that “all health systems’ labor is labor.” 

The first panel, moderated by Jed Meline, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Project HOPE, tackled health workforce financing strategies amid shifting global funding opportunities. Diah Saminarsih, CEO and Founder of the Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI), urged governments to recognize the significant return on investment offered by health development, calling for the exploration of alternative financing sources such as health taxes and bilateral debt swaps. Dr. Cary Adams, CEO of the Union for International Cancer Control, warned of the “massive cost of inaction”-- an estimated $40-50 billion in the next two decades– of weak primary health care and prevention mechanisms for cancer, underscoring the need to rebuild core health system infrastructure. With more than 20 million global cancer cases annually and rising, insufficiently equipped and overstretched health workers risk worsening burnout and attrition.

Alice Lin Fabiano, Global Head of Social Impact and Partnerships at Johnson and Johnson, announced a renewed $20 million investment in the Africa Frontline First Catalytic Fund, delivering a rousing call to private sector partners to invest in long-term partnerships and ambitious innovations that unlock new doors and drive sustainable impact. 

Peter Barton, Head of Partnerships for Family Planning at the Gates Foundation, reflected the need for data-driven and cost-effective solutions that demonstrate greater impact per dollar, and called for integration of effective, user-adapted innovations, particularly digital tools and AI.

The Fireside Chat, led by Ruben Ayala, Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer at Operation Smile, spotlighted the experiences of Carmen Rosa Vilela Vargas, a community health worker (CHW) and President of the Lima-Callao Health Promoters Network, where she oversees 30,000 CHWs, and Innocent Kamali, a nurse and District Program Director at Partners in Health. Carmen discussed the critical role of CHWs in primary care, calling for their formal recognition, protection, and integration into national health systems, while Innocent showcased how Rwanda’s decentralized, community-centered approach to NCD care demonstrates the impact of tailored, locally driven health strategies. 

Crystal Lander, Associate Vice President of CARE, led the final panel: a discussion between implementers to identify pragmatic solutions and policies to build a more sustainable, resilient, and fit-for-purpose health workforce. Martin Msukwa, Chief Program and Innovation Officer at Seed Global Health, called for sustained partnerships between implementers and ministries, acknowledging the role of NGOs as enablers and points of connection between donors and governments. Jesse Kihuha, NCD Initiative Program Manager at CMMB, emphasized the urgent need for holistic reforms, warning that workforce shortages, lifestyle changes, and demographic shifts are undermining Sub-Saharan Africa’s NCD response capacities. He urged the application of lessons from infectious disease response— across supply chains, digitization, financing, and primary care integration, requiring “the same level of commitment and urgency.”

Living Goods CEO Emilie Chambert stressed that lasting, high-impact health partnerships require governments to take the lead through co-design, co-financing, and co-implementation, enhanced by adaptable and digitally innovative implementing partners. Finally, Elizabeth Igaga, Senior Director of Program Safety at Smile Train, highlighted the value of partnerships like the Pediatric Anesthesia Training for Africa Fellowship (PATA), which ensures that strategies and training are contextually adapted and aligned with the needs of the systems health workers will serve within.

To translate these insights into action, the Coalition calls for pragmatic, coordinated investment in the global health workforce to reach a future where every health worker is supported, skilled, and protected. If you missed it, the event recording is available here.