South Asia has the largest health workforce shortages among regions working towards universal health coverage (UHC), according to a study published in The Lancet.
The analysis found that South Asia was short of approximately 2.6 million physicians, 11 million nurses and midwives, 1.3 million dentistry personnel and 971,000 pharmaceutical personnel in 2019.
Workforce Density Remains Low
The study assessed health workforce availability across 204 countries and territories and identified minimum workforce densities needed to achieve an effective UHC coverage score of 80 out of 100. South Asia, along with sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa and the Middle East, recorded some of the lowest health workforce densities.
As per Economic Times HealthWorld, the shortage highlights the need for greater investment in training, recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals to strengthen access to essential services.
Need for Greater Investment
The researchers emphasised that expanding the health workforce will require increased financing and coordinated efforts to train and retain healthcare professionals. Therefore, addressing workforce shortages remains critical for South Asian countries to improve healthcare access and advance towards UHC.