Transforming health systems through health and care workers to build new capacities

Health and care workers are not primarily a problem, but the core capital of health systems. As transformational agents they are crucial to driving innovation, supporting policy reform, advancing equity and inclusiveness in service provision, and strengthening professional innovation and organisational resilience, often generating co-benefits aligned with other policy areas.

Co-chairs: Ellen Kuhlmann and Tiago Correia, WHO-CC

Panelists

• Gabriela Lotta, Getulio Vargas Foundation, São Paulo, Brazil
• Viola Burau, University of Aarhus, Denmark
• Zuzana Kotherová, Charles University Prag, Czechia
• Klaas Stek, University of Twente, The Netherlands

Commentaries

• Katarzyna Czabanowska, WHO Collaboration Centre for Public Health Leadership and Workforce Development
• Marius Ungureanu, EUPHA section Health and Care Workforce
• Matthias Wismar, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels, Belgium

Publications

Editorial; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2025.105548.

Special Issue of Health Policy; https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/10GHMNML3P4

The “The health and care workforce – from crisis to capacities” webinar series will take place this spring and will focus on how countries can move from managing chronic workforce shortages to building long-term capacity across health and care. It connects evidence and policy debate around three core challenges: how to plan, retain, and transform the workforce, bringing together researchers, practitioners and decision-makers.

Download the programme here.