Strengthening Romania’s health workforce : leading by example

Abstract

Romania has set out a bold vision to sustainably improve its health workforce (HWF) aiming to address some of the persistent challenges it has faced for decades including uneven distribution between urban and rural areas, out-migration and shortages of several medical specialties. Despite being the fifth highest producer of medical graduates in the WHO European Region, Romania’s density of medical doctors, nurses and other health professionals is below regional averages and although a notable decrease has been observed in recent years, migration of health workers continues. Furthermore, their geographic maldistribution and inadequate access to quality primary care services in underserved areas led to overutilization of hospital services.