The severe global shortage of health and care workers poses a dangerous threat to health systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The authors of the article “Prioritising the health and care workforce shortage: protect, invest, together”, including six health ministers and the WHO Director-General, assert that this workforce crisis requires urgent action and propose “protect, invest, together” to tackle it.

Deep protection of the existing workforce, they assert, is needed through improved working conditions, fair compensation, upholding rights, addressing discrimination and violence, closing gender inequities, and implementing the WHO Global Health and Care Worker Compact to ensure dignified working environments. All countries must prioritize retaining workers to build resilient health systems.

Significantly increased and strategic long-term investments are imperative in both training new health workers through educational channels and sustaining their employment. Countries should designate workforce development, especially at the primary care level, as crucial human capital investments impacting population health outcomes. Intersectoral financing is key, bringing together domestic funds, grants, concessional sources, and private sector partners into coordinated national plans. Global solidarity is required to resource-constrained LMIC health workforces.

Intersectoral collaboration between ministries of health, finance, economic development, education and employment can develop integrated health workforce strategies. South-South partnerships offer pathways for health worker training and mobility to address regional shortages. Small island nations confront severe but overlooked workforce obstacles requiring specially tailored policy approaches.

The severe projected health workforce shortfall urgently necessitates that actors globally protect existing health workers, strategically invest in growing national workforces, and unite intersectorally behind robust health employment systems, especially in lower resourced contexts. As the authors emphasize, “there can be no health, health systems, or emergency response without the health and care workforce.”

What about the role of education?

This article does not provide much direct discussion of health education systems related to the global health workforce shortage. However, it makes the following relevant points:

Read more to understand what this means for health education: Protect, invest, together: strengthening health workforce through new learning models

Reference: Agyeman-Manu et al. Prioritising the health and care workforce shortage: protect, invest, together. The Lancet Global Health (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00224-3

Illustration: The Geneva Learning Foundation Collection © 2024

https://redasadki.me/2024/02/12/prioritizing-the-health-and-care-workforce-shortage-protect-invest-together/

#globalShortage #HRH #HumanResourcesForHealth #workforce

Global shortage of fiber-optic cable threatens digital growth

Rising prices of components cast shadow over 5G rollout and development of data centers.

#FiberOpticCable #5G #DataCenters #GlobalShortage
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/07/global-shortage-of-fiber-optic-cable-threatens-digital-growth/

Sony Suspends a7C and a6600, Permanently Ends a7 II and a6100

The chip shortage continues to hamper Sony's ability to produce cameras. Today, the company has announced that it is no longer accepting orders for the Alpha 7C and a6600 and has "completed production" on the Alpha 7 II and a6100.

Sony published an apology note on its Japanese website and has noted four cameras are either temporarily suspended or will no longer be produced to an already relatively long list of previously discontinued or suspended products.

"Currently, with regard to digital imaging products, parts procurement is delayed due to the effects of global semiconductor shortages," the company says. "Therefore, we will suspend the acceptance of orders from our distributors and customers at the Sony store as follows for specific models with tight supply."

In early November, Sony stopped accepting orders for the Alpha 7 II and the a6100, but today has announced that since there is "no prospect of future parts supply," it has decided to permanently end production of both cameras. It and the a6100 have been designated as "production completed." It is still possible to find these cameras for sale through dealers, but the remaining stock is all that will remain of these cameras.

The a6600 and the Alpha 7C have been moved to the "suspended" phase, and Sony is no longer accepting orders for either camera. The two join the ZVE-10 that was similarly designated on December 3.

The Alpha 7C isn't quite as recent of a release as the ZV-E10 was, but it is still relatively new. The camera was announced in September of 2020. The a6600 is about a year older and was announced in August of 2019.

Because Sony normally likes to continue manufacturing older series cameras for years after they have been "replaced" by newer models, the global chip and parts shortage appears to be hitting it harder than the likes of Canon or Nikon. While it's true that all three are struggling to make enough products to fill store shelves, Sony has been forced to discontinue production on even relatively new cameras in an effort to prioritize other products in its line.

In just the last two months, Sony has been forced to suspend orders or cease all production of eight total camera products, while the availability of many camera products it does continue to manufacture are becoming more difficult to find.

#equipment #news #chipshortage #discontinued #globalshortage #partsshortage #sales #salesvolume #sony #sonya6400 #sonya6600 #sonya7c #sonya7ii #sonyzve10 #suspended

Global Chip Shortage Appears to Be Hurting Sony Significantly

While the global chip and parts shortage has made the availability of new camera equipment scarce across the board and most manufacturers have had difficulty meeting demand, Sony may be the one feeling the biggest pinch.

According to a report from CNET Japan which was spotted by DigiCame-Info, Sony's market share in Japan took a massive hit in recent months as it has been unable to produce enough camera equipment to keep store shelves stocked.

Of note, the report claims Sony's ZV-E10 sold well due to its relatively low price, but the company was forced to suspend manufacturing of the new camera due to lack of parts availability. Prior to the halt, Sony temporarily had the top share of the market before taking a nosedive and ceding the top spot to Canon.

The graph on the left below is titled "Sales Volume Share" and the two lines in red and black denote Canon and Sony respectively. Sony was doing well through September before a massive falloff in October and November. Canon appears to be less affected and has seen its sales volume share grow in that same time period.

The graph on the right shows the average per-unit price of cameras ordered, and the black line with yellow triangles represents Nikon. Due to the Z9, the average price of cameras ordered from the company jumped significantly in November, which shows the popularity of the new flagship camera which has still not been released to the public. Looking at that same graph, Sony's average price has been increasing steadily at the same rate its sales volume share has collapsed, which seems to indicate the company is selling its more expensive cameras, just at a far lower volume than it was moving cameras like the ZV-E10. Somewhat of note is that Canon's unit price has hardly fluctuated even amidst the company's sales volume growth, which indicates the R3 hasn't had much of a sales impact in Japan.

Digicame-Info compared the top-selling cameras in BCN's rankings over the last few months and found that the Sony a6400 and the ZV-E10 both led the way for Sony before sales fell off a cliff in September, so it appears the impact of the supply shortage for its lower cost cameras was extremely significant.

What is not particularly clear is if this manufacturing choice is because there are very specific parts for the ZV-E10 that Sony could no longer procure or if it is because the company chose to focus on its higher-end cameras over it. From a pure sales volume perspective, it would have made more sense to continue to produce the ZV-E10 over cameras like the Alpha 1 or Alpha 7R IV since the company was clearly selling more of them, at least in Japan.

On that last note, these numbers only reflect sales in Japan, so the company's global sales and reach may or may not coincide with this data. Still, it's a strong indication that of all the camera companies, Sony has felt the pinch of the global parts shortage the most.

Image credits: Header photo via Sony.

#equipment #news #averageprice #canon #canonr3 #chipshortage #globalshortage #nikon #nikonz9 #partsshortage #sales #salesvolume #sony #sonya6400 #sonyzve10

Kodak’s 35mm Canisters Now Have Silver Caps Due to Metal Shortages

Kodak has announced that due to a supply shortage of tin-free steel (TFS) it is temporarily replacing all the end caps on its 135 format film canisters. The canisters will begin shipping from Kodak's Colorado facility over the next couple of weeks.

Originally reported by Emulsive and confirmed by PetaPixel , Kodak is making the temporary material change due to the scacity of materials. The company says that the film will look different and will feature silver caps instead of its traditional black.

"We wanted to reassure you and provide enough detail so that you can explain if asked," Kodak says. "As you may already know, we currently use tin-free steel (TFS) for all 135 magazine end caps. Due to shortages worldwide, our supplier will not be able to provide TFS to our manufacturer until September."

"After looking at multiple options, we’ve found and tested an alternative material source (tin plate steel). It will not be painted to match our standard look and feel," the company continues. "We’re using the non-painted end caps until we are once again able to procure our standard TFS product."

Kodak says that the replacement caps have passed all internal testing requirements for photo activity and light integrity and the change in material will not affect the efficacy of the film for use in photography.

While the ongoing semiconductor shortage is the most notable in the tech space, the pandemic has also caused disruptions across other industries. Lumber and auto parts are two other highly disrupted industries that have yet to recover from increased demands. Lumber in particular has seen an astronomical rise in demand and therefore price.

Tin-free steel is also used for the packaging of processed food and fruits and the shortage is starting to affect manufacturers around the globe. The steel market overall is suffering from a serious imbalance of supply and demand caused by an unexpected rise in the demand for steel internationally, CECO Building Systems writes. For the same reasons that the lumber market is struggling, the increased demand for housing materials has outmatched previously predicted levels and supply has been unable to keep up. While construction is the most affected by the issues, the problems have obviously begun to affect other industries.

For now, expect new rolls of Kodak film to look a bit different than expected. These unusual film canisters might end up being collectors' items, depending on how long the steel shortage lasts.

Image credits: Header photo showing silver-colored caps provided courtesy of Kodak.

#equipment #news #products #135formatfilm #black #covid19 #filmcanisters #globalshortage #kodak #kodak135format #kodakfilm #pandemic #shortage #silver #steelshortage #tinfreesteelshortage