Human resources for health (HRH) is a critical component of health systems. Many governments of our member states have expressed the need to determine the status of HRH in relation to supply, utilisation and management systems. This study focused on establishing the situation of HRH in the region. The findings of this study will assist not only in identifying further areas of research in relation to HRH but aid in developing both regional and national level strategies on training, deployment and retention.
Human Resources
Human resources for health situation analysis in seven ECSA countries
East Central and Southern African Health Community, 27 July 2006
African brain drain
Hooper-Box C: Kubatana, 1 September 2006
Southern Africa’s public health services are in a state of emergency. Bad pay and working conditions, plus the impact of HIV/Aids, are bleeding the system of its most valuable resource: people. With the cost of training a general practice doctor estimated to be $60 000, and that of training a medical auxiliary at $12 000, the African Union estimates that low income countries subsidise high income countries to the tune of $500-million a year through the loss of their health workers. The article touches on the experience in several eastern and southern African countries.
Health worker motivation in Africa: The role of non-financial incentives and human resource management tools
Mathauer I, Imhoff I: Human Resources for Health 4:24, 29 August 2006
There is a serious human resource crisis in the health sector in developing countries, particularly in Africa. One of the challenges is the low motivation of health workers. Experience and the evidence suggest that any comprehensive strategy to maximize health worker motivation in a developing country context has to involve a mix of financial and non financial incentives. This study assesses the role of non-financial incentives for motivation in Benin and Kenya.
Health worker shortage is major obstacle to universal treatment
Oxfam press release, 15 August 2006
Representatives of Oxfam International, Physicians for Human Rights and Health GAP today called the critical shortage of health workers in developing countries "a major challenge to meeting the promise of universal access to treatment." They demanded massive new investment from government to train and retain health workers. "Campaigns to fulfill the right to health have brought anti-retroviral medicines to hundreds of thousands of people. But without the health workers and health systems to administer these medicines, that right remains unrealized for millions more," said Leonard Rubenstein, JD, Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights.
Inernational mobility of health professionals
Bach S: United Nations University Wider Research Paper 82, August 2006
The consequences of health professional mobility have become a prominent public policy concern. This paper considers trends in mobility amongst doctors and nurses and the consequences for health systems. Policy responses are shifting from a reactive agenda that focuses on stemming migration towards a more active agenda of managed migration that benefits source and destination countries. Improved working conditions and effective human resource practice are required to encourage retention of health professionals in both source and destination countries.
Managing International Mobility of Health Professionals
Bonnefin M: Geneva Health Forum, 1 September 2006
The global phenomena of massive migration of health professionals and the advent of e-Health solutions are evidence of the fact that significant trends in health are no longer regional. Worldwide, doctors, nurses and ancillary staff are increasingly seeking better prospects for themselves, not only in the northern economic powerhouses but also in developing countries. However, a severe lack of knowledge-sharing mechanisms and appropriate funding has meant that patients and health professionals in poor countries are still denied the opportunity to benefit from pioneering e-Health programmes now being developed in countries such as the UK and Canada.
Addressing the health workforce crisis: Towards a common approach
Dal Poz MR, Quain EE, O\\\'Neil M, McCaffery J, Elzinga G, Martineau T: Human Resources for Health 4:21, 3 August 2006
The challenges in the health workforce are well known and clearly documented. What is not so clearly understood is how to address these issues in a comprehensive and integrated manner that will lead to solutions. This editorial presents – and invites comments on – a technical framework intended to raise awareness among donors and multisector organisations outside ministries of health and to guide planning and strategy development at the country level.
Band aid for southern African medical brain drain?
Integrated Regional Information Networks, 16 August 2006
New laws introduced by the British government in mid-August 2006 are unwittingly giving the southern African region a temporary reprieve from the brain drain of medical staff. The new laws stipulate that employers in Britain will only be granted work permits for foreign nurses if they can prove that no suitable British or European Union candidate can be found.
Establishing human resource systems for health during post-conflict reconstruction
Smith J, Kolehmainen-Aitken R-L: Management Sciences for Health Occasional Papers (3) 2006
This paper outlines the Human Resources for Health (HRH) issues during the period of reconstruction in post-conflict countries, drawing examples from Afghanistan and Cambodia. It explores issues of restoring a health workforce and outlines key HRH actions for workforce reconstruction, including: identifying available staff; developing HRH management structures, systems and capacity; clarifying HRH roles and responsibilities; establishing health worker equivalencies and upgrading skills; supporting civil service reconstruction; and widely disseminating HRH information.
How are health professionals earning their living in Malawi?
Muula AS, Maseko FC: BMC Health Services Research 6:97, 9 August 2006
Many health professionals in Malawi experience overly challenging environments. In order to survive some are involved in ethically and legally questionable activities such as receiving gifts from patients and pilfering drugs. The efforts by the Malawi government and the international community to retain health workers in Malawi are recognised. There is however need to evaluate of these human resources-retaining measures are having the desired effects.