Investing in Education, Skills and Jobs in the Health Sector

This side event precedes the High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage and the adoption of its Political Declaration which calls for immediate actions to address the global shortfall of 18 million health workers.

The purpose of this side event is to raise awareness and facilitate understanding on the importance and urgency of promoting education and employment in the health sector, particularly for youth and women. This side event also aims to identify options on how the international financing institutions can contribute to the human capital agenda, therefore addressing the projected shortfall of 18 million health workers by 2030.

Objectives

• Demonstrate the evidence and particularly the returns on investment in education, skills and jobs in the health sector.
• Discuss how expansion of access to education and health, through social spending, generates broader productivity and reduces inequality of opportunity and income.
• Explore how International Financing Institutions (IFIs) and other partners can advance the human capital agenda through investments in education, skills and jobs in the health sector, overcoming traditional perspectives around wage ceilings and shrinking payrolls towards providing economic opportunities, particularly for women and youth.

*This is a UNGA 74 side event. For more information on UNGA 74 and its side events, click here