The World Health Organisation (WHO) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the five members of the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA): FDI World Dental Federation (FDI), International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), International Council of Nurses (ICN), World Physiotherapy, and World Medical Association (WMA).

Together these five organisations represent more than 41 million health professionals worldwide and assemble essential knowledge and experience from the key health professions in more than 130 countries.

This signing ceremony represents an historic event, bringing together the five global organisations representing the world’s dentists, pharmacists, nurses, physiotherapists and physicians with WHO to enhance their joint collaboration on protecting and investing in the health workforce to provide safe, quality and equitable care in all settings.

It reflects the importance of investing in the health workforce through a multi-stakeholder integrated approach. It provides a framework for joint action between the five organisations and the WHO. They specifically commit to collaborate on priority health workforce issues as well as universal health coverage, noncommunicable diseases, and ageing populations. The framework will also contribute to reinforcing national and regional health systems and services.