A report of the 1981 Health Manpower Development Medium-Term Programme, sponsored by the World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, is presented. The document "European Regional Strategy for Attaining Health for All by the Year 2000" was reviewed, and attention was directed to the present structure of the Regional Office for Europe and ways of implementing European regional programs at the national level. Discussions centered on the need for WHO to achieve a better balance between the earlier policy of assisting countries to increase supply and a more recent policy of producing relevant types of medical, nursing, and other health care that addresses social and economic realities. In an outline of the main features of the global medium-term program, the significance of global targets was stressed. Additional areas of consideration include the following: the development of the medium-term program on health manpower development (MTP/HMD); HMD/MTP activities during 1978-81; activities projected in the HMD/MTP for 1982-83; pproposed activities under the "Seventh General Programme of Work (1984-89)," with particular attention to 1984-85; machinery for implementation of the HMD program; the Association for Medical Education in Europe; the Association of Medical Deans in Europe; and the Association of Schools of Public Health in Europe. The status of the following subprograms for 1978-81 are also reviewed: communication and collaboration, continuing education of health personnel, teacher training for the health professions, and training of public health officers. The committee's recommendations for the overall program and separate subprograms and lines of development for 1984-89 are included. (SW)