ON the heels of the latest Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) report revealing that 14 out of 39 countries in the Americas lack sufficient doctors, nurses, and midwives to meet the health needs of their population, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says Jamaica, which is among the 14, is taking steps to avoid the looming “deficit” by 2030 as predicted by PAHO.

According to PAHO, in a statement on the report which was released last week, “without immediate interventions, the Americas could face a deficit of between 600,000 and two million health workers by 2030, compromising universal health access and coverage”.

“The health workforce is the backbone of our health-care systems; without health-care workers it is simply not possible to speak of universal access or universal coverage. This report provides us with concrete data to guide investment in training, retention, and decent working conditions, ensuring that health care reaches everyone,” PAHO Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa said in the statement.

According to PAHO, with an average of 66.57 health workers per 10,000 population, the region exceeds the World Health Organization (WHO) benchmark of 44.5. However, PAHO said major inequalities persist, pointing out that while countries such as Haiti (6.38) and Honduras (7.13) face critical shortages, Cuba and the United States have almost four times the target number. Additionally, the report said factors such as limited training capacity, an ageing workforce, migration (especially in the Caribbean), and unequal distribution widen the gap.

Dr Tufton, in a brief response to a query by the Jamaica Observer about the findings, said, “I haven’t seen the report but I can confirm that we are one of those countries based on migration and the limited scope for expansion of training, faculty and clinical rotation space in particular that Jamaica does have a deficit in certain fields”.

He said that “shortage of certain skill sets in the health-care field” was a major factor behind his recent visit to India and The Philippines. Following those meetings, Jamaica and Apollo Hospitals (India) signed a joint communiqué on health-care cooperation to advance clinical training, telehealth services, artificial intelligence in diagnostics and hospital development.

Tufton said other efforts are ongoing to shore up Jamaica’s human resources in the sector.

“It’s why we have some 300 Cuban nurses here and why we are developing and have developed an HR plan based on the new posts that have been created and the expansion of our health services and this is across the board, both in some of the specialist areas as well as in specialist nursing,” he said.

The report examines the situation of the health workforce in the Americas based on eight key occupations — physicians, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists, physical therapists, psychologists, and community health workers — and breaks the information down by country. Among the most relevant findings are aspects related to the availability, distribution, and composition of the workforce.

According to PAHO, the majority of health workers are between 35 and 44 years of age, indicating a relatively young workforce. It said that ageing is, however, a concern in countries such as the United States and Guatemala, where almost half of physicians are 55 years of age or older, underscoring the need to train new generations.

“Without decisive action, these gaps will limit the ability of health systems to respond to the needs of the population,” warned Dr James Fitzgerald, director of PAHO’s Department of Health Systems and Services.

“This report is a compass for governments. With strong information systems and technical cooperation, we can train more professionals and bring them to where they are most needed — in rural areas and marginalised communities,” he added.

PAHO is advocating strengthening human resources for health information systems (HRHIS) to monitor and plan, increasing training in midwifery and psychology, and designing intersectoral policies to retain talent.

The report concludes that without strategic investments in training, regulation, working conditions, and health worker distribution, it will not be possible to move towards truly universal, equitable, and resilient health systems.