Proposals on increasing the number of health workers in South Africa and new rules on the hiring of foreign workers in this field form part of the National Human Resource Plan for Health launched early in April on World Health Day. According to the plan, on the Department of Health's website, proposed staff increases include increasing the current newly-qualified 1200 medical practitioners per year to 2400 by 2014, staff nurses from 5000 to 8000 by 2008 and pharmacists from 400 to 600.
Human Resources
South African government launches health resources plan
I-Africa
Southern Africa: Working together for health
Pambazuka News
It is ironic to be talking of working together for health in southern Africa - a region faced with chronic shortages of health workers as a result of massive brain drain, inadequate drugs, inadequate and chronic shortage of infrastructure and equipment. Working together for health was this year’s theme for World Health Day, commemorated on the 7th of April. Yet the authors further discuss the disheartening fact that little was said in southern Africa for World Health Day.
The global migration of nurses: importing skills, exporting shortages
id21health
Research by the World Health Organisation explores the international migration of nurses and the implications for five countries: Australia, Ireland, Norway, the UK and the USA. The flow of nurses to these countries has risen during the 1990s, and, in some cases, recruitment is from developing countries. In this article the researchers propose a number of policy options to manage nurse migration and make a number of recommendations for improving workforce data systems.
WHO's 2006 World health report a disappointment
Lancet: Samarasekera, U
While the World Health Organization's focus on human resources for health in its 2006 World Health Report (WHR) is welcome, the lack of detailed data in the report is disappointing, states an editorial in this week's issue of The Lancet. The author explains how ".....[it] shows just how much of a gap exists between current knowledge and what is necessary to inform policymaking."
WHO/WFME strategic partnership to improve medical education
World Health Organisation
WHO and the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) propose a strategic partnership to pursue a long-term work plan - open to participation by all medical schools and other educational providers - intended to have a decisive impact on medical education in particular and ultimately on health professions education in general. The WHO/WFME work plan will benefit from the accumulated experience and assets of each partner.
World Health Day: Chronic deficit of health workers
Inter Press Service News Agency: Capdevila G
There is a critical shortage of health workers - doctors, nurses and lab technicians - in poor countries, which most desperately need them. This was the warning given by the World Health Organisation warned in its annual report on global health problems.
World Health Day: Kenyan medics deplore low pay, scarce incentives
IPS News Agency: Mulama J
As the international community prepared to commemorate this year’s World Health Day on April 7, the issue of poor remuneration for health workers in Kenya were being debated. The pay for doctors and other health care givers in the public service is so low that many of these people could not devote their full time to public service. This forms the basis of the argument for improving remuneration packages for Kenyan doctors.
World Health Day: Mozambican nurses to the fore with ARV distribution
Inter Press Service News Agency: Ayisi RA. 3 April 2006
As World Health Day (Apr. 7) was rapidly approaching, public attention that week was being directed to the widespread shortage of health workers. The theme for World Health Day 2006, 'Working together for health', was chosen to add momentum to efforts at resolving the crisis -- something that is nowhere more evident than in Mozambique.
Africa: Migration of health workers
Eldis dossier
Migration of health workers is a hotly debated issue. It has contributed to shortages of medical staff in many regions of Africa, causing additional strain on already overstretched health systems. This article adresses the issue by discussing key arguments presented in several different published papers on the topic.
Ensuring an infectious disease workforce: Education and training needs for the 21st century
Board on Global Health, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
In recognition of the microbial and societal complexities underlying infectious disease control, this report emphasizes that mounting an effective response to infectious disease threats will require multidisciplinary efforts involving all sectors of the clinical medicine, public health, and veterinary medicine communities. Such a multidisciplinary approach must rest squarely on a well-prepared work-force within each of these communities. However, "the number of qualified individuals in the workforce required for microbial threat preparedness is dangerously low....".