Princess Muna appointed as member of UN commission on health employment, economic growth

AMMAN — HRH Princess Muna has been appointed as a commissioner in the UN High‐Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth.

The newly established commission was formed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in response to the UN General Assembly Resolution (A/70/L.32), which recognises that investing in new employment opportunities in the healthcare sector adds broader socioeconomic value to the economy and contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a Royal Court statement said.

Princess Muna has been named to take part in this commission, co-chaired by French President François Hollande and South African President Jacob Zuma, "based on her capacity as a world-renowned figure in the fields of global health and social development", the statement added. 

The princess is also "a well-known advocate of programmes that support the Sustainable Development Goals", with an emphasis on alleviating poverty, promoting maternal and child health and strengthening the healthcare workforce.

As a World Health Organisation (WHO) patron for nursing and midwifery in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, vice-president of the Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom and an honorary adviser for WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Development in Jordan, Princess Muna has addressed several health forums on the importance of empowering the health workforce globally.

She has also been a recipient of several honorary doctoral degrees and fellowships and a number of international awards, 

In Jordan, Princess Muna helped found the Princess Muna College of Nursing in 1962, and she is the founder of the Jordanian Nursing Council, which was established in 2002, as part of her early commitments to the provision of quality nursing and the advancement of nursing services, practice and education.

The main objective of the UN commission is to propose actions to contribute to global inclusive economic growth, create decent jobs and achieve universal health coverage for all, with the aim of complementing global development efforts set by the international community, according to the statement.

Issues to be addressed by the commission will be essential in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

In addition to the goals related to health, decent work and economic growth, the commission will address issues related to employment and social protection as a means to reduce poverty; the education of healthcare workers; employment in the health sector; health as an important tool to tackle inequality; and cross-sectoral partnership. 

The commission aims to put the advancement of the healthcare profession at the forefront of all considerations since it has a direct and meaningful impact on the economy and human life, the statement said.

Its first meeting, recently held in Lyon, France and presided over by the presidents of France and South Africa, issued a communiqué that pointed to the importance of finding innovative ways to address health labour shortages and ensure a good match between the skills of health workers and job requirements, so as to foster the efficiency of the sector and its contribution to inclusive growth.

During the meeting, attendees also agreed on the need for a transformative people-centred health agenda, aimed at strengthening ways of investment in health and overall human capital at domestic, regional and international levels, including through the assistance of innovative financing instruments and multilateral development banks, which also takes into account the role of the private sector, the statement added.

The commission will soon begin to draft its report that will be presented to the UN secretary general in September 2016, and which will provide "a new, tangible and coherent set of guiding actions for all governments and relevant stakeholders". 

The commission "strives to offer recommendations that bring about a major political and qualitative shift" in investments in the health sector in order to stimulate inclusive and sustainable economic growth, productive employment and decent work, in addition to ensuring healthy lives and well-being, according to the statement.

Former higher education minister Rowaida Maaitah has been appointed as a consultant for Princess Muna during her work at the commission, whose co-chairs are supported by commissioners from across various sectors and multi-stakeholder groups, including developed and developing countries, international organisations, trade unions, academia and civil society. 

Co-vice chairs include WHO, the International Labour Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.