WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel, 2nd ed.

Overview

The WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel was adopted by the Sixty-third World Health Assembly in 2010 through resolution WHA63.16. The Code establishes voluntary principles for ethical international recruitment, safeguarding the rights of migrant health personnel while promoting equitable and sustainable health systems. Its implementation, relevance and effectiveness have been assessed through periodic reporting and expert advisory group reviews.

Following the third review in 2026, which reaffirmed the Code’s growing relevance amid increasing international recruitment of health personnel, the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly adopted amendments through resolution WHA79.12. This second edition incorporates five new provisions (Articles 2.4, 2.5, 5.8, 10.4 and 10.5), extending the Code’s scope to health personnel employed as care workers and clarifying its applicability during health emergencies and other crises. The amendments also encourage mutually beneficial partnerships and targeted co-investments between source and destination countries, measures to mitigate health workforce losses during crises, and investments in health worker education, employment and retention.