Healthcare sector is the backbone of any nation’s economy and healthcare workforce is one of the key differentiating factors responsible for the success of the healthcare sector. The vital role of healthcare workforce has been further emphasised by the Covid-19 pandemic, where health workers from different cadres united together and acted as the first line of response against the crisis.
The demand for healthcare workforce in India is currently on the rise due to multiple factors such as population growth, ageing, changing epidemiology, and increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). With the rise in demand, the existing gap between required and available healthcare workforce will inevitably widen. Acknowledging this challenge, the Indian government has undertaken initiatives for the augmentation of medical education infrastructure across the country. However, the issue of healthcare workforce shortage presents the dual difficulty of not just quantity but also quality. Thus, to comprehensively respond to the potential crises of healthcare workforce shortage, there is a need to focus on the following six key areas identified for the overall strengthening of the healthcare workforce.