A decade review of the health workforce in the WHO African Region, 2013-2022
This report provides a snapshot of the health workforce (HWF) in the African Region for the decade 2013–2022. To provide a thorough understanding of the status of the workforce in the Region, the report analyses stock and density, training and education capacities, migration, employment status, supply and demand, need for health workers, expenditures, leadership and governance and the impact of HWF levels across all 47 Member States. It also analyses key performance indicators against targets. The report’s main findings are summarized below.
Health workforce data availability and use have improved dramatically: In 2013, data was reported for 26% of cadres across all 47 countries of the region. This improved to 75% in 2019 and 81% in 2022.
The overall stock and density of health workers have improved, but there are wide variations among countries and regional economic communities. The HWF has tripled in size over the past decade, from only 1.6 million in 2013 to 5.1 million in 2022. The significant increase is due to a combination of improved data availability and the HWF development efforts of Member States.
