Welcome to the World Bank Africa Region Human Resources for Health Program
The Africa Region Human Resources for Health (AHRH) Program is carried out by the World Bank and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Government of Norway (NORAD) to assist governments in Sub–Saharan Africa to address their Human Resources for Health (HRH) crises. This website intends to provide an overview of the programs regional and country specific components and to serve as a storage portal for program related documentation and resources, and a blog for external discussion and participation. In addition, the website provides an overview of how HRH is addressed in various Bank operations across the Africa Region.
Why the Focus on HRH
In the midst of accelerating advances in medicine and health technologies and a growing number of effective and affordable interventions, many countries in Africa have experienced a decline in their health outcomes. Rates for child mortality are increasing and life expectancy is decreasing. HIV/AIDS and resurgent epidemics have increased the burden of disease in Africa where communicable diseases account for nearly three quarters of the total disease burden and HIV/AIDS for nearly one-fifth. The increase in disease burden due to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, malaria and malnutrition has generally decreased African life expectancy. There is a consensus emerging that one of the key reasons for the continuing decline are weak health systems, including low numbers and productivity, and inequitable distribution of health workers.
As arguably the most important of the health system inputs, the performance and the benefits health systems can deliver depend largely upon the knowledge, skills and motivation of those responsible for delivering health services - Human Resources for Health. In Africa, the health workforce has suffered from years of national and international neglect resulting in an under supply of sufficiently trained health workers in many countries and regions. At a time when the international community and SSA countries scale up interventions to address the epidemics of tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV-AIDS, an inadequate, inequitably distributed and inefficient health workforce is becoming more apparent. There is simply insufficient human capacity in many developing countries, and or regions within countries, to absorb, apply and make efficient use the interventions being offered by many new health initiatives.
Africa's health workforce crisis will continue to be a major constraint in attaining the millennium development goals (MDG's) for reducing poverty and disease. Governments, Donors and NGOs alike are increasingly recognizing the need for action and strategies to address the crisis. Development partners are urging governments not to ignore the health worker crisis and to invest in training, recruitment and retention of health workers, and focus on reasonable wages for health workers, purchasing of medical equipment and supplies, and improving working conditions.
Despite increased political commitment towards addressing the health workforce crisis, many countries have not been able to break out of the talking phase and into concerted action. Although more and more governments are actively seeking out ways in which to progress beyond policy dialogue and move towards the development of effective policies and programs, planning and action, many continue to be compounded by the:
- lack of adequately developed or defined national Human Resources for Health Strategies and Plans
- lack of sufficient country specific, good quality baseline data and information on the health worker situation, required for the design and implementation of HRH strategies/plans, and the development and monitoring of targeted policies and programs on HRH
- limited financial resources and technical capacity, to fund and support the (re)design of HRH strategies/plans, carry out data collection, analysis, capacity building, and policy implementation.
- lack of harmonized collaboration amongst Development Partners resulting in assistance efforts that are neither aligned or coherent.
