The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) welcomes the World Health Report published by WHO this month. We note that the report critically assesses the way that health care is organized. We also note that the WHO Director-General in her introduction to the report is focusing on the need to make delivery more socially relevant and that services should contribute to health equity, social justice and end of exclusion.
IFSW President David N Jones says that in our view this highlights the key role of social workers in promoting awareness about public health issues and ensuring effective links between social policies and well-being.
IFSW has just released its new Policy Paper on Health, approved by our global General Meeting in August. David Jones underlines that we see health as an issue of fundamental human rights and social justice, and these two central social work values frame our understanding that all people have an equal right to enjoy the social conditions that underpin human health and to access services and other resources to promote health and deal with illness.