Session 4
Session 4: Reshaping and investing in a multidisciplinary and inter sectorial public health workforce to achieve SDGs
This session was moderated by Dr. Natalie Mayet, Deputy Director of NICD South Africa, and Prof. Felix Rosenberg, Itaborai Forum Director, Fiocruz, Brazil.
Looking beyond traditional public health cadres
Prof. Aamer Ikram, IANPHI Vice-President
Prof. Ikram emphasized the need for interdisciplinary approaches to build a resilient public health system, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health must move beyond its traditional medical roots to include fields like data science, behavioral science, environmental studies, and digital technology.
The evolution of public health spans from early sanitation efforts to today's holistic focus on physical, mental, and social well-being. Challenges like climate change, aging populations, health inequities, and misinformation demand broader, collaborative solutions.
Prof. Ikram explained the importance of cross-disciplinary training and non-clinical public health workforce. He also called on leveraging AI, digital health, and data analytics for disease prevention and care. Moreover, he repeated that global partnerships must be strengthened and that policies must be adapted to local needs.
Aamer Ikram's presentation (PDF)
Strengthening peer learning between NPHIs
Geoffrey Namara, WHO Berlin Hub
Geoffrey Namara introduced a new programme that the WHO is developing: the National Public Health Institute Exchange Programme. It aims at strengthening countries' health emergency preparedness and response by promoting peer-to-peer learning and collaboration among national public health institutions. This initiative, still in the planning phase, is expected to launch soon and responds to growing demand for increased engagement between these institutions, which vary widely in their governance and financing structures.
The programme focuses on three main models. The first is a mentorship programme where experienced institutions support others by sharing expertise. Mentors will first visit the mentees' institutions to better understand their context before hosting them. The second model is a peer exchange, where institutions swap personnel, such as technical or policy leaders, for short-term visits to share practical insights. The third model involves addressing joint public health challenges, allowing multiple institutions to collaborate on common issues and innovate solutions together, with WHO and partners facilitating the process.
This initiative aims to build lasting institutional relationships, enhance the technical and leadership capabilities of public health institutions, and increase their visibility in global health networks. It represents a strong commitment by WHO and its partners, including IANPHI and regional offices, to foster global collaboration and strengthen public health systems through shared learning and mutual support.
Geoffrey Namara's presentation (PDF)
Essential and Emergency Public Health and Primary Health Care Workforce – NPHI & Regional and Global IANPHI Leading on WHO Road Map for Development and Investment
Shiva Murugasampillay, Chair of the IANPHI Sub Committee on Public Health Professional Development
Shiva Murugasampillay delivered a call to prioritize the public health workforce, emphasizing that all public health achievements depend on committed professionals. A strengthened essential public health and primary health care workforce (EPH-PHC-WF) in every country is required to deliver universal public health service including emergency preparedness and response and revitalizing PHC towards UHC and Health and Well-being for all, to cost-effectively and cost-efficiently accelerate and scale up to achieve UN-SDG3 and AU-New Public Health Order by 2030. The defined existing EPH-PHC-WF needs to be re-oriented, and numbers trained and increased with the public health professional competencies and skills to meet the dynamic/changing needs and demands of NPHI& IANPHI, primary health care and national public health systems strengthening.
For NPHI aiming to prioritize and strengthen their public health and primary health care workforce, including those charged with epidemic, emergency, and pandemic response, the WHO Roadmap theory of change entails a focus on three action areas:
- Defining Essential Public Health Functions and Sub functions to be tailored to public health system needs and demands
- Delivering Competency-Based Public Health Education to build or strengthen the requisite capacities
- Mapping and Measuring Public Health Occupations to enable target setting, planning and monitoring
NPHI with their Ministry of Health, University Public Health Departments and Schools of Public Health, National Public Health Colleges and Associations, and, Regional and Global IANPHI need to align with the work of all other IANPHI- Sub Committees and three levels of WHO and regional Centers for Disease Control to rapidly take forward EPH-PHC- Work Force reorientation, education and vocational training, continuing education and career development in prioritization and revitalization of public health and primary health care development.
Shiva Murugasampillay's presentation (PDF)
Addressing health inequities: Capacity-building initiatives as a strategy for developing a workforce responsive to community needs
Dr. Rufino Gujamo, Director of Training and Communication, Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Mozambique
Dr. Ivalda Macicame presented on behalf of Dr. Gujamo who was not available.
The presentation demonstrated Mozambique's National Public Health Institute (INS)'s efforts to strengthen the public health workforce and tackle inequities. The country's health indicators—including maternal mortality, life expectancy, and under-five mortality—remain below desired standards, with rural areas particularly underserved. Despite 70% of the population living in rural areas, most healthcare professionals are concentrated in urban zones, highlighting a stark urban–rural divide.
To address this, INS is heavily investing in education and training. Through Masters and PhD programs in Health Sciences and Health Systems, some in partnership with Brazil's Fiocruz. They enroll students from all provinces, prioritizing the less-developed central and northern regions. The Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP), launched in 2010, includes advanced, intermediate, and frontline levels, aiming to train epidemiologists down to the district level.
Short courses in laboratory skills, surveillance, risk communication, and leadership have also reached thousands, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. INS supports internships and scholarships—though limited—across multiple disciplines, and they've developed a 10-year Human Resources Development Plan to align training with national needs and ensure equity across provinces.
Looking ahead, Mozambique plans to launch a National School of Public Health and operationalize its role as an Africa CDC Centre of Excellence for Portuguese-speaking countries. These steps aim to strengthen national capacity and bridge regional health disparities through a well-trained, equitable public health workforce.