African Health Ministers Adopt Plan to Get More Health Graduates Into Jobs
African health ministers have launched a 10-year plan to train, employ, and retain 3 million additional health workers by 2035. The initiative shifts focus from mere training to addressing the labor market failure that has left nearly a million qualified professionals unemployed.
Why it matters
Addressing the employment mismatch is critical for strengthening African health systems and preventing a projected shortage of 6 million workers by 2035.
email facebook linkedin twitter Whatsapp African health ministers have committed to train, employ and retain 3 million additional health workers by 2035, shifting the focus from producing graduates to actually creating jobs and keeping workers in national health systems. The region already has a serious employment mismatch, with about 943,000 trained health workers unemployed even as hospitals remain understaffed and Africa has only 46% of the workforce it needs. The new agenda treats health workforce investment as an economic priority, with WHO estimating that every dollar invested can generate up to $10 in economic returns while helping avert a projected shortage of more than 6 million workers by 2035. African health ministers adopted a 10-year workforce agenda on Wednesday, August 26, during the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Addis Ababa.
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