Publication: National Workforce Capacity for Essential Public Health Functions Collection
We are pleased to announce and share with you the recently published National Workforce Capacity for Essential Public Health Functions Collection, unveiled last week at the WHO World Health Assembly. Representing extensive collaboration among leading public health and emergency response experts, organizations, and associations, this collection of works seeks to identify, educate, and prepare a more resilient, diverse health and care workforce capable of delivering the full range of essential public health functions (EPHFs), including emergency preparedness and response.
The President of the Global Network for Academic Public Health (GNAPH) served as co-chair for the subgroup on competency-based education. The resulting Global Competency and Outcomes Framework for the Essential Public Health Functions and related Operational Handbook provide comprehensive insight into the educational and training needs required by the workforce to deliver the EPHFs, adaptable to regional context.
We encourage you all to follow this work as it enters the vital phase of piloted global implementation.
WHO Workforce Roadmap: GNAPH Endorsement
In May 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched Building the public health and emergency workforce: A roadmap. The roadmap focuses around three critical action areas:
- Defining the essential public health functions and sub-functions for national contexts, including a focus on emergency preparedness and response
- Strengthening competency-based education for the provision of the essential public health functions
- Mapping and measurement of occupations delivering public health functions
The Global Network for Academic Public Health (GNAPH) is honored to be a signatory to this important publication and is proudly supporting and working closely with WHO in preparing the workforce we need to address current and future challenges. As a global network, we believe countries can learn from each other, and regionally there can be increased collaboration to pool resources and expertise. This implementation can be enabled through evidence-based guidance, innovative and disruptive ways of thinking to re-assess public health education, research, and practice.
The public health workforce is at the core of the health system and all essential public health functions. Operationalizing this roadmap has the potential to tremendously strengthen the health systems of countries across the world.
