Malta’s approach to managing and recruiting healthcare workers has been singled out as an example to emulate by the World Health Organisation’s top official in Europe.

WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told health ministers and officials from across the continent that they could learn from Malta’s approach, singling out Health Minister Chris Fearne for praise. 

Fearne, who is also deputy Prime Minister, was among the attendees at the WHO Europe Regional Committee – the largest annual WHO event within the continent. 

WHO top official Kluge told his audience that governments needed to dedicate more focus to creating solid national health workforce strategies. 

“Chris Fearne, Malta’s deputy prime minister, has recently been doing very, very well and we can learn a lot from [him],” Kluge said, as he singled out Malta’s work in this sector for praise. 

Kluge said that WHO Europe would soon be launching a pan-European report on national workforce strategies that included data from all 53 member states in the WHO’s European region. 

Health Minister Chris Fearne. Photo: Jonathan Borg

The WHO document is intended to help member states better manage their health workforces, which face continuous strain all across the world.

The WHO predicts the global shortfall of healthcare workers to reach 15 million workers by 2030, with countries at all stages of development impacted.

Locally, multiple concerns have been raised about a shortage of nurses, amid reports that other European countries are poaching Malta-based nurses by promising them higher wages. Many of those nurses are, in turn, poached by Malta from poorer countries, often in Asia. 

Sources within the government told Times of Malta that Kluge’s comment about Fearne and Malta was a reference to a strategy document focused on Malta’s own cohort of nurses, doctors, carers and other healthcare workers. 

The document has yet to be released.