Global Partnerships

As part of CapacityPlus’s commitment to advancing private-sector solutions for human resources for health, in October we joined the newly relaunched Private Sector Working Group (PSWG). This is a broad-based forum comprised of USAID, its implementing partners, and a number of other multilaterals and foundations such as the World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation.

PSWG’s new role
With the growing role of the private sector in health and enlargement of the membership base, the PSWG is indeed challenged with a number of critical issues concerning expectation management and prioritization of activities. In the October 26 meeting participants asked:

• What private sector engagements should PSWG focus on in the future—the not-for-profit private sector, commercial private sector, or both?

• Which topics and issues are most relevant for the PSWG to address, based on the programmatic priorities of the health sector in developing countries as well as the scope of the group?

• What are the best activities for the PSWG to pursue to most successfully contribute to its above-mentioned goals?

PSWG members will have the opportunity to voice their ideas on these and other questions in an upcoming online survey. Read more »

How can we encourage health workers to take up and remain in rural postings? This is a key challenge for increasing access to health care. But as we address health worker retention in hard-to-reach areas, there are numerous myths afloat. Here are just a few.

Myth 1. Health workers leave rural posts because they want more money
To be sure, salaries are important. But it’s more complicated than that.

As my colleague Kate Tulenko has pointed out, health workers are consistently among the top wage earners in developing countries. And in terms of international migration, an OECD policy brief notes that while “wage differentials across countries play an important role,” that’s not the only reason health workers leave. Other factors are also at play.

In a South African study cited in Fatu Yumkella’s brief on retention, for example, doctors noted that improving their salary was one of the most important factors for rural retention—yet they also stated that salary alone would not retain them. Money is only one part of the picture.

Myth 2. International migration is the greatest threat
We often think that developing-country health workers’ migration to the US, UK, and elsewhere is the most pressing challenge we face in addressing the workforce shortage. But it’s less of a concern for rural health care than we might expect. Read more »

After being escorted past more security guards than I’ve encountered in my entire life, I arrived in a conference room in the United Nations building overlooking the East River in New York City eager to hear luminaries discuss the critical link between human resources for health (HRH) and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

I took the train from Washington, DC to NYC early this morning and watched the birth of a sunny, early fall day. I “immigrated” to NYC from Kansas after graduate school, and I still love its positive energy.

Progress in human resources for health
No Health Workforce. No Health MDGs. Is that acceptable? was a side event held at the MDG Summit this week, sponsored by the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA) along with the governments of Norway, Brazil, and Cameroon, and the Health Workforce Advocacy Initiative. President of Malawi Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika delivered the keynote address, and Dr. Mubashar Sheikh from GHWA delivered the opening and closing remarks. The panelists included ministers of health from Cameroon, Malawi, Norway, and Brazil; a DFID representative; and a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) vice president. Read more »

Health education in the global context
At the Accordia Foundation’s Health Workforce Partnership Symposium, held September 14 in Washington, DC, US Ambassador Dr. Eric Goosby noted three key points about health education.

1) The US Government (PEPFAR) is committed to building health capacity in developing countries; 2) Over the long term, country ownership and sustainable national capacity is critical to this effort; and 3) PEPFAR will be working with the Global Fund to merge planning processes, initially in 10 countries, and by implication this includes health workforce education. Read more »