It’s Time for the World to Get Serious about Health Workforce Financing
Apr 27th, 2008 by Ben Greenberg
After I went to Uganda for the Global Forum on Human Resources for Health, I spent a week in Kenya, meeting with our partner group, the Kenya Health Rights Advocacy Forum. As many of you know, Kenya was just coming out of a tragic post election period during which violence killed over 1200 people and displaced almost 300,000. While a peace agreement has been signed, there remain deep divides and challenges to be met in Kenya—especially around health and health workers. During the turmoil in January and February, health workers were displaced, and some faced violence and ethnic discrimination, weakening the health system and scattering doctors and nurses across the country—including to IDP camps. HERAF is deeply concerned about the effect of post-election violence on health workers, and therefore, on the entire health system. During the crisis, HERAF stood with civil society to urge an end to violence and attention to health rights, especially for those with HIV/AIDS. In the coming months, they will document the effects of the violence on health workers while advocating for health and human rights for all during this difficult recovery period in Kenya’s history.
Indeed, while challenges remain in Kenya and across the continent, the Forum gave the world renewed energy to fight for health systems that work—and renewed anger at the promises made and not kept by policy makers world wide.
Please find attached HWAI’s new Platform on Adequate and Sustained Health Workforce Financing, one way PHR will continue to fight to health systems and human rights around the world. We’ve heard plenty of rhetoric about the need for improved health workforce worldwide—but have yet to see anything near the estimated $70 billion needed to make this happen. Donors, national governments and international financial institutions all have obligations–and HWAI demands they meet them in order to ensure health rights for all. Read our platform and stay tuned for what you can do to help build health systems in Africa.
HWAI Platform on Adequate and Sustained Health Workforce Financing (PDF)
