GENEVA May 27, 2025

Public Services International (PSI) welcomes the Director-General’s reports on the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel and the Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health (HRH).

We commend the acknowledgment of current implementation challenges and strongly support the inclusion of trade unions in regional consultations of Member States reviewing the interim report by the Expert Advisory Group (EAG).

Key Concerns:

We express serious concern over the role of private recruitment and placement agencies in the health and care sector. These for-profit businesses must not be allowed to exploit migrant health and care workers for commercial gain.

Our Call to Action:

• Governments must enforce strict regulations on private recruitment agencies.

• Health and care services must be protected from commercialization and kept in public hands, where quality, equity, and workers’ rights can be assured.

Fairness, dignity, and justice for health workers globally starts with ethical recruitment and strong public systems.