Health services and employment

Issues and trends

Health services are one of the basic sectors of society and the economy. They touch the lives of all population groups and all workers. The ILO considers that health care is a basic human right and subscribes to the "Health For All" Strategy of the World Health Organization (WHO), which aims at achieving greater accessibility of health care through community-based provision of primary health care and other health services. While health challenges differ from country to country, there is near universal recognition of substantial inefficiencies in allocating human, material and financial resources. Therefore, many governments are rethinking the basic premises of the health care systems, which also shape the employment outlook for health care workers.

Beyond its general concern about health protection for workers, the ILO works to improve the situation and working conditions of health care personnel, critical to the delivery of the services in this sector, by means of specific labour standards and sectoral activities. Over the past three decades, the health professions have been growing rapidly in most countries. Due to demographic and epidemiological conditions, health services demands are expected to further increase in coming years, as will employment opportunities. However, employment in health services is subject to national conditions, financial resources, and the availability of trained personnel. Increasing costs of health care services, structural adjustment policies and cost-containment measures have had a negative impact on the employment, working conditions and career prospects of health personnel.