The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR): Helping or hindering the workforce planning of health systems in poor countries? A call for evidence, case studies and stories Background PEPFAR was established to spearhead the United States’ contribution to addressing the AIDS epidemic worldwide, particularly in 15 focus countries. The additional funding to combat AIDS has been welcome. However, the focus of the PEPFAR programme on one disease, its short one year funding cycles and its tendency to rely on non-government providers run the risk of undermining Ministries of Health and coherent, long term health workforce planning for the health system as a whole. At the same time, capacity-building or other activities may strengthen the workforce and health ministries’ planning capacities. PEPFAR must ensure that its policies, strategies and approaches are conducive to sector wide planning and comprehensive health systems strengthening. Physicians for Human Rights and the Global Health Watch are calling for evidence, case studies and anecdotal reports of PEPFAR’s impact on health workforce planning in order to provide members of the U.S. Congress and other officials who are seeking to improve the effectiveness of PEPFAR. Please submit or inform us of any evidence, reports, case studies or stories that can help answer the following questions. We have two deadlines by which we seek this information. • As soon as possible, not later than February 23rd – to inform Congress in time for them to be able to influence PEPFAR’s operational plans for FY 08 • June 15th – to allow information to be incorporated into the next alternative world health report, as well as to help inform the reauthorization of PEPFAR Please send any information to: Eric Friedman, Physicians for Human Rights (efriedman@phrusa.org) Questions Where have health workers for PEPFAR programs come from? Have they drawn health workers away from providing non-HIV services, and if so, what impact has this had on population health? Has PEPFAR otherwise reduced the capacity of the health system to deliver non-HIV services? Has PEPFAR increased the capacity of the health workforce to deliver non HIV health services? If so, how? Has PEPFAR hired health workers away from the Ministry of Health? What impact has this had on the Ministry’s capacity? Have PEPFAR activities increased the Ministry’s capacity? If so, how? Have PEPFAR programmes affected the labour market for health workers by causing a relative increase in salaries for health workers employed through PEPFAR-funded compared to other health workers? If yes, can you give an indication of the size of the relative difference in salaries? What is the effect of PEPFAR’s short, one-year funding cycles on the health sector and the health labour market? What difference would it make if PEPFAR funding was more predictable and assured for longer time periods? How does or can PEPFAR contribute to more effective, long-term health workforce planning? Your name: ___________________ Your organization: _________________ Your email address: _________________ Your phone number: _________________ Country described above: ___________________ Would you like your answers to remain anonymous? Thank you for your time and help.