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. The plan commits the region's 47 member states to train, employ and retain 3 million additional health workers by 2035.
The article reports on a policy initiative using data from the WHO and regional reports without emotive language.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in