At the 72nd World Health Assembly, WFME addressed the delegates with a statement on the health workforce shortages. WFME stressed that is is important to harmonise the varying standards of quality in medical education world-wide, to provide basis for achieving appropriate care for all communities. Read the full statement below:

“Distinguished Delegates,

Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) aiming to enhance the quality of medical education worldwide.

The WFME commends the efforts taken by the WHO and member states for committing to share health worker migration data and the substantial increase of national reports submitted over the years in line with the WHO Global Code of Practice.

Health workforce shortages are a pandemic crisis. While bridging the health professionals gap by accepting foreign graduates and incentivising working in your states, it is important to remember the differences of quality that exist between medical education systems among countries. We call on the member states to look beyond just standardised licensing tests and to further address medical education standards divergences, in order to achieve harmonised norms based on a globally coordinated approach.  Such an approach requires not only an accreditation system but also a pertinent recognition program to ensure that agencies, responsible for maintaining that medical education quality and medical schools accreditation, work at a rigorous and appropriate standard. The WFME Recognition Program aims to maintain a high standard of medical education within countries is no longer a choice but imperative to help ensure that our communities receive the healthcare they deserve.

We welcome the opportunity to work with WHO in promoting such a Recognition Programme and call on member states to invest in effective accrediting agencies accordingly. We also call on other health professions to set standards for education in their fields. Such collective cooperation between member states and the health community would ensure informed policy dialogue and development of agreements to validate the relevance of the Global Code of Practice today and in the years to come.”