The international organization published on its official website, in conjunction with the International Labor Organization (ILO), a guide for such purposes, taking into account the great pressure that the Covid-19 pandemic is still exerting on medical personnel.

Covid-19 has taken a heavy additional toll on the groups providing care services and has brought with it a dangerous neglect of their welfare.

More than one in three health facilities lack point-of-care hygiene stations, and less than one in six countries had a national policy on a safe working environment in this sector, it informed.

“Sickness absence and burnout has exacerbated preexisting labor shortages and undermined systems’ capacities to respond to the increased demand for care and prevention during the crisis,” said James Campbell, director of WHO’s Department of Health Personnel.

The official also revealed that, in the first 18 months of the pandemic, some 115,500 healthcare workers died from the new coronavirus.

According to Alette van Leur, director of ILO’s Sectoral Policy Department, effective mechanisms must be put in place to ensure ongoing collaboration between employers, managers and workers to safeguard the integrity of human resources.

The report further noted that nations able to actively develop health and safety programs for healthcare workers experienced reductions in work-related injuries and illnesses and fewer absences due to illness, as well as improvements in the work environment, productivity and workforce retention.

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