Brazzaville, 7 April 2006 -- The World Health Organization has called for a better deal for African health workers with a view to motivating and retaining them.

“Little attention has been paid to the people who actually deliver health care in our Region,” said WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, in a message to mark World Health Day observed worldwide on 7 April. “For too long, the health workforce has been ignored, left to toil and struggle in silence. This cannot continue.”

Dr Sambo stated that Africa, with 14% of the world’s population, and carrying a disproportionate 25% of the global disease burden, had only 1.3% of global health workers.

“Obviously very little progress (in health development) can be achieved if the situation remains unchanged as Africa needs at least one million more health workers for any noticeable improvement to occur,” he said.

The Regional Director attributed the underlying human resources for health crisis in the region to several factors, including inadequate financing arrangements, weak planning, and migration of African health workers, especially to the developed world. He stated that outflow of skilled health personnel from Africa “has reached an extent that there are more health workers from African countries working in some large cities of developed countries than in their countries of origin.” Rates of health worker migration range from 8% to as high as 60% in some African countries.

Out-migration is now compounded by new dynamics such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It has led to distortions in global and national health worker availability, chronic under-investment and an overall weak health system. The consequences are complex, raising issues of worker shortages and mal-distribution. Weak planning has led to the paradoxical situation whereby some African countries are producing more medical doctors than midwives.

Dr Sambo outlined several initiatives launched to address the health workforce crisis in the Region. These include a joint WHO/World Bank conference in 2002 which enabled the documentation of the magnitude of the crisis and several other regional and international forums which underscored the need to strengthen health systems and the health workforce which constitutes the lynchpin of health systems.

He added: “ Africa must reverse today’s dramatic health situation by investing massively in its health workers. This will call for dynamic, concerted, integrated and comprehensive action from countries and partners. The central issue of migration should be addressed both through bilateral agreements and by reaching a global consensus on key issues such as recruitment of health workers from development countries and aid from developed countries to mitigate the adverse effects.

The Regional Director pledged that WHO would continue to work with governments, professional organizations, civil society, NGOs and other development partners to ensure availability of skilled and motivated health workers in Africa.

For more information contact:

Technical contact

Dr Akpa Gbary 

Tel: + 47 241 39284 

Email: gbarya [at] afro.who.int

Media contact

Samuel T. Ajibola

Tel: + 47 241 39378

Email: ajibolas [at] afro.who.int