Global Health Resource

An impactful discussion paper addressing the critical global health care workforce shortage, this report offers real-world insights, case studies and a framework for Catholic health leaders to reshape international recruitment practices and enhance global health care capacity. This 2025 updated edition includes a checklist and practical applications for health systems and facilities involved in the recruitment of foreign-trained professionals.

When it comes to migration, immigrants, and the global health workforce, Catholic health care begins with a simple but profound truth: every person should be free to choose whether to migrate or to remain in their homeland.¹ This means upholding both the right to migrate when necessary and the often overlooked right not to migrate, the right to live in safety, dignity, and opportunity at home so that leaving is never an act of desperation.² This means prosperous countries have a responsibility, as an act of solidarity, to support developing nations through direct assistance and sound policy so that the social, economic, and political conditions necessary for starting and sustaining a family are strengthened, and families do not feel pressured to migrate.

The Church teaches that prosperous nations should welcome those seeking safety and livelihood, even as governments regulate migration for the common good.³ Catholic health care supports the legitimate role of governments in regulating immigration. However, we also witness the human and clinical consequences when enforcement inconsistencies or limited legal pathways create fear, impede workforce stability, and increase vulnerability to exploitation or worse. Strengthening orderly, transparent pathways is both a pastoral duty to migrant workers and a justice duty to patients who depend on an adequately staffed workforce. For Catholic health care, this responsibility flows from our mission to uphold the dignity of every person. It calls us to strengthen global health systems, pursue ethical recruitment, and advocate for just policies so families in developing nations can flourish without feeling forced to migrate.

Meanwhile, the U.S. faces fundamental workforce gaps, including physicians and nurses, which undermine access to care in the USA, especially for persons who are poor and vulnerable. The AAMC projects a nationwide physician shortage of up to 86,000 by 2036,⁴ and the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates approximately 189,100 RN openings per year, largely due to turnover and retirements.⁵ We support more lawful clinical pathways, including visas, but we must also recruit ethically. The WHO Global Code sets the standard: fair treatment of workers and safeguards that discourage recruitment from countries with critical worker shortages.⁶

The Catholic Health Association’s Future of Health Workforce Research and Discussion Paper reinforces this integrated vision, and the Global Workforce Ethics and Strategy Checklist provides a tool to help make it a reality. Together, they emphasize that a just and sustainable workforce strategy must combine migration ethics, U.S. workforce needs, and global solidarity.⁷

1. Cites Pope Francis’ theme: “Free to choose whether to migrate or to stay,” affirming the right not to migrate.
   Source: National Migration Week Highlights “Overlooked Right” Not to Migrate
   Link: https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/national-migration-week-highlights-overlooked-right-not-migrate
2. Explains that Catholic social teaching upholds both the right to migrate and the right not to migrate, meaning the ability to thrive at home.
   Source: Root Causes of Migration and U.S. Aid to the Northern Triangle
   Link: https://cmsny.org/publications/jmhs-gerschutz-bell-092822/
3. Affirms duty of prosperous nations to welcome the foreigner while retaining the right to regulate migration for the common good.
   Source a: Catechism of the Catholic Church 2241
   Link: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/answers/catechism-of-the-catholic-church-2241-23282 [journals.sagepub.com]
   Source b: Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope
   Link: https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/immigration/strangers-no-longer-together-on-the-journey-of-hope
4. Projects a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036.
   Source: New AAMC Report Shows Continuing Projected Physician Shortage
   Link: https://www.aamc.org/news/press-releases/new-aamc-report-shows-continuing-projected-physician-shortage
5. BLS estimates ~189,100 RN openings per year driven by retirements and turnover.
   Source: Registered Nurses – Occupational Outlook Handbook
   Link: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm
6. Standard for ethical recruitment: fair treatment, equal rights, and safeguards against recruitment from critically short countries.
   Sources: WHO Global Code (Overview)
   Link: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/wha68.32
7. Reinforces the need for integrating migration ethics, U.S. workforce needs, and global solidarity.
   Source: CHAUSA