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Global healthcare workforce shortage

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2026-09-21 10:12 UTC → 2026-09-21 16:59 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Research indicates a massive deficit in the global healthcare workforce. An Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation study published in The Lancet Public Health found that 34.4 million additional professionals—including 23.9 million nurses and midwives, 7.1 million doctors, 1.8 million dentists, and 1.6 million pharmacists—are required to achieve moderate universal health coverage. The study noted significant regional disparities, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, and highlighted that while women make up 68.9% of the workforce, they remain concentrated in lower-paying roles. Following these findings, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the shortage is expected to intensify, with a projected deficit of 11.1 million workers by 2030. This crisis is driven largely by aging populations and the retirement of medical professionals, with one in three doctors in high-income regions expected to retire within the next decade. The WHO cautioned that 67 countries may struggle to maintain current medical care standards and warned that increased recruitment from lower-income nations could compromise healthcare quality in those regions. Recent WHO data emphasizes that approximately one in four doctors globally is aged 55 or older and approaching retirement. The situation is particularly acute in Europe, where the density of medical professionals is 13 times higher than in the African Region. Specific risks have been identified in European nations: in Italy, over 26% of doctors were aged 65 or older as of 2022, while Hungary, Estonia, and Germany also face challenges due to high proportions of elderly or aging medical staff.

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