The World Health Professions Alliance is an international organization which represents than 23 million health care professionals worldwide. The Alliance unites dentistry, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy through their representative international organizations, the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), the World Confederation for Physical Therapy, the World Dental Federation (FDI) and the World Medical Association (WMA).
The WHPA was formed between ICN, FDI and WMA in 1999 as an alliance to address global health issues, with the secretariat being run from the ICN. FDI was added to the Alliance in 2005. The aim of the organization is to facilitate collaboration between key health professionals and major international stakeholders such as governments, policy makers and the World Health Organization. The Alliance operates under the philosophy that by working in collaboration, instead of along parallel tracks, the patient and health care system benefit.
Over the past nine years, the WHPA has taken active and leading roles in fostering patient safety, advocating a positive practice environment in the health care setting, human resource issues, regulation of the health professions, human rights in medicine, producing a core competency framework for international health consultants and discussing the future of healthcare. Other activities have involved combating counterfeit medicines, condemning the stigma associated with mental illness, multi drug resistant tuberculosis and tobacco.
In May, it will be holding a first-of-its-kind conference on regulation in Geneva from the 17th to 18 May. The main focus will be on the role of professionals in addressing health needs, models of health professional regulation and regulatory governance and performance.