The World Health Organization report says fifty-seven nations in southern Africa and Southeast Asia are facing a serious shortage of health care workers. This crisis is terribly affecting how governments fight diseases and improve health. The W.H.O says more than four million additional doctors; nurses and other health workers are urgently require to improve the situation.

The warning came in a new W.H.O. report released on April seventh -- World Health Day. It said the health care crisis is most severe in southern Africa. The continent has eleven percent of the world’s population, but only three percent of the world’s health care workers.

The followed report warns that the ability of poor countries to provide important life-saving services is in danger. In addition, many patients are not able to get the treatments they need for diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

The W.H.O. report provides a ten-year plan to deal with the crisis. It calls for national leadership and new policies for health workers. It also urges more international assistance and foreign aid. The report says that nations facing the most serious shortages must increase health care spending