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The Potential Power of Public-Private Partnerships in Ghana

August 2013 by Ariana Katz
TAGS: Ariana Katz, Ghana, Health Workers, Public-Private Partnership

This post was originally published on the IntraHealth International blog.

Ariana KatzGarden City University College is a private nursing school in Kumasi, Ghana, where I spent six weeks this summer assessing the school’s progress toward improving its management practices. During my time at Garden City, I heard from several people that Ghana’s government is reluctant to work with private schools, and concerned that private schools are training subpar nurses.

Hearing this—both from members of the public and from people within the private school—was discouraging. Ghana is one of 57 countries that have a significant shortage of health workers1. In Ghana there are only about 10 nurses and midwives and one physician for every 10,000 people—numbers that fall far below the World Health Organization’s recommendations. Public institutions cannot fill the gap on their own. Read more »

“He Who Laughs Last, Laughs Best”: Moving Past Obstacles to Strengthen the Health Workforce in Nigeria

July 2013 by Agbonkhese Oaiya
TAGS: Agbonkhese Oaiya, Health Workers, HRIS, iHRIS Manage, Nigeria

Agbonkhese OaiyaMy recent journey to Imo State, Nigeria parallels the risks and difficulties that health workers endure while working in challenging environments in developing countries—yet with persistence and commitment, they are able to create structures for delivering quality health services.

In my case, I was traveling with a group to further efforts to strengthen human resources for health (HRH) at the state level. My team set out on a journey that would ordinarily take less than two hours but instead turned into 24 hours. Read more »

Picturing Our Work: Teaching Teachers to Save Lives

July 2013 by Devika Chawla with Heather Ross
TAGS: Devika Chawla, Health Workers, Heather Ross, Maternal Health, Nigeria, Partograph

Devika ChawlaFor millions of women in the world, giving birth is one of the biggest threats to their lives. Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios—approximately 630 women die for every 100,000 births. Having a trained health worker present during the birth can make the difference between life and death for both the mother and the baby. But the challenge lies in ensuring that health workers are present, ready, connected, and safe.

CapacityPlus’s recent work in Nigeria focuses on ensuring health workers are “ready,” meaning that they have the necessary motivation, competencies, and support to meet the needs of their clients and communities. When the CapacityPlus team asked faculty and administrators at schools of midwifery and health technology how the project could support them, the most common answer was, “Train our teachers.” Read more »
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