South Asia

It is envisaged that these common competencies will support the role of nurses within the region, provide direction for recognition of qualifications and for multi-country licensure programs and guidance for those countries that have not yet developed their specific competencies for nurses. This document details background information, the competency development process, the proposed WPSEAR Common Competencies, suggestions for their application and a glossary of terms. [author’s description]

Most South Asian governments have concentrated on emulating a Western style of healthcare service, with the result that an elite few are overmedicalised whereas the majority are neglected. However, community participation in the development of local health services could provide a solution. [abstract]

The directory enlists all available data on the institutes that award at least a bachelor degree in any of the health professions in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

This document outlines the Programme for Development of Human Resources for Health (HRH) in the WHO South East Asia Region, whose overall aim is to collaborate with the Member Countries to correctly plan, effectively train, efficiently deploy and optimally utilize the types and numbers of health personnel that they require to meet the needs of their health systems. [from introduction]

The objectives of this paper are to: lay out the facts on what we know about the HRH for EMR countries; generate and interpret evidence on the relationship between HRH and health status indicators for LMICs and middle and high income countries (MHICs) in the context of EMR; identify and analyze the information gaps and provide forward thinking by identifying priorities for research and policy. [abstract]

The authors argue that health for all is not achievable in most countries without health sector reform that incorporates a process of coordinated health and human resources development. They examine the situation in countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization.