Human resources for health in countries participating in the WHO Small Countries Initiative: a report on progress, 2024

This progress report provides an overview of the activities of the Small Countries Initiative (‎SCI)‎ Working Group on Human Resources for Health (‎HRH)‎. The Working Group was established in 2019 at the Sixth High-level Meeting of the SCI, creating a modality for cross-country collaboration on strengthening of HRH in small countries. Since its inception, the Working Group has held five meetings: in December 2019 (‎Venice, Italy)‎, January 2021 (‎online)‎, April 2022 (‎Venice, Italy)‎, March 2023 (‎in the context of the High-level Regional Meeting on Health and Care Workforce in Europe: time to act, Bucharest, Romania)‎ and in December 2023, at a side event in the context of the Tallinn Charter 15th Anniversary Health Systems Conference (‎Tallinn, Estonia)‎, where they focused on stocktaking and addressing HRH challenges through digital innovation. These events have enabled Working Group members to share experiences, advance networking and enhance impact of country action on HRH. As of March 2024, four of the eleven small countries had standalone HRH strategies in place or under development. The remaining seven small countries had integrated HRH strategies in place or under development. Throughout the years in which the HRH working group has existed, the SCI countries have continued to define their commitment to HRH and also strengthened their capacity. In November 2023, small country HRH focal points participated in an Executive Course on HRH Leadership and Management in Copenhagen, Denmark during which they interacted with experts and other country representatives to learn and exchange ideas on improving the sustainability of workforce supply in their countries. Small countries will continue to report back in 2025 on progress towards achievement of HRH commitments taken.