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atistical Office of the United Nations, December 1958 blic Health Service Records

HO First Report on the World Health Situation 1958

B. DISTRIBUTION OF MEDICAL PERSONNEL

1

About one-third of the world population is served by about twothirds of the medical personnel. As might be expected, the proportion of medical personnel is much higher in the economically developed countries of North America and Europe than in other less-developed areas, particularly Asia and Africa.

The number of physicians proportionate to population has limited significance in many areas, because of the difficulties of ascertaining the distribution and utilization of their services. Also, many countries are trying to solve the physician shortage by the training and utilization of auxiliary medical and health workers. In southeast Asia and Africa, especially, these auxiliary workers are widely used to carry on the functions of physicians. However, no one can question the gross insufficiency of physicians in the underdeveloped parts of the world, where, in some countries, the ratio is as low as i to every 50,000 of population.

1 Medical personnel, as used here, includes physicians, dentists, licensed midwives, and pharmacists Nurses are dealt with elsewhere. Data were inadequate to include sanitary engineers, sanitarians, or other categories.

DISTRIBUTION OF MEDICAL PERSONNEL

62% of the World's Medical Personnel Serves only 31% of the People

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* Includes physicians, dentists, midwives and pharmacists Source of data: Statistical office of the United Nations

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31%

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MAH

Oceania 0.5%

TOTAL POPULATION

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