by Alison Ryan

All countries which are Members of the United Nations may become members of WHO by accepting its Constitution. https://www.who.int/countries/

Australia, a Member State of WHO, has 51 WHO Collaborating Centres (WHOCCs) as of 1 Apr 2022.

All CCs are designated by the initiative of a WHO Department after successful completion of several years of collaboration with WHO in carrying out jointly planned activities. This means that WHO only considers for designation institutions with a long and solid history of contribution to WHO programme activities.

One of these Australian WHOCCs is the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) which regulates Australia’s health practitioners in partnership with the National Boards. Ahpra is titled a WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Workforce Regulation.
Presently Ahpra has a “pending” status which expired on 21/Dec/2021.

Ahpra’s Terms of Reference:
1) Support WHO in promoting the adoption of contemporary regulatory approaches to health workforce regulation
2) Assist WHO in providing technical support to strengthen health workforce regulatory systems in Member States
3) Strengthen the capacity, skills and knowledge of regulators in Member States under WHO’s guidance

Ahpra’s activities:
1) Support WHO in the implementation of WHO programmes and activities at country level
2) Training and education
3) Providing technical advice to WHO

Ahpra’s Subjects:
1) Human resources for health (excluding Nursing)
2) Nursing
3) Health legislation and human rights

The WHO Outputs: 4.2.2 – Countries enabled to plan and implement strategies that are in line with WHO’s global strategy on human resources for health and the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel

From the saturating plethora of WHO agents operating in Australia, we must ask to what degree has the health of Australians been affected by Ahpra’s collaboration with the WHO’s programs and their health workforce strategies which are oriented towards Universal Health Coverage during the past few years of Covid?

Since Australia is so heavily involved in the WHO, the prospect of a WHO Pandemic Treaty gaining traction in this country is quite possible. Therefore, it behooves all freedom loving Australians to redeem the time and support those independents in the next election. We’ve lost George Christensen, but Malcolm Roberts did mention the WHO Treaty in the Covid under Question inquiry so it’s on his radar.