Human Resources for Health

The Egyptian Ministry of Health (MOH) is working to strengthen its capacity to roll out and sustain health sector reforms. Challenges facing the MOH include excess workforce capacity in some facilities, imbalances in the geographic and specialty distributions of health workers, and sub-optimal quality of the graduating workforce.

Kenya, like many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, has been affected by shortages of health workers in the public sector. Data on the rates and leading reasons for health worker attrition in the public sector are key in developing effective, evidence-based planning and policy on human resources for health. Health Systems 20/20 and Abt staff members Slavea Chankova, Stephen Muchiri, and Gilbert Kombe co-authored an article entitled “Health workforce attrition in the public sector in Kenya: a look at the reasons” recently published in Human Resources for Health.

One of the key challenges facing the Egyptian Ministry of Health (MOH) in its reform efforts is ensuring that the country has the right human capacities and workforce in place to roll out and sustain reforms. On several occasions, the Minister of Health has iterated that improvements in human capacity are key strategic priorities. Challenges facing the MOH in its efforts to manage its workforce include: excess workforce capacity; imbalances in the geographic and specialty distributions of health workers; and sub-optimal quality of graduating workforce and MOH staff.

With funding from the President's Emergency Plan to Fight AIDS (PEPFAR) and support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Health Systems 20/20 project is working with the Ivorian Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene (MOH) to build human resources for health (HRH) numbers and management at all levels of the health care system.

As in most African countries, Cote d’Ivoire is facing a crisis in human resources for health (HRH) worsened by a high HIV-AIDS prevalence (4.7%) and a civil war from 2002 to 2007. Many health workers have fled from the northern regions to seek refuge in the capital city, Abidjan. At a World Bank event on January 14, 2009, Gilbert Kombe shared insights from Health Systems 20/20 work to develop innovative and sustainable interventions to address the health labor crisis.