Black expert discussing with junior nurses to find the best treatment options, showcasing teamwork and professionalism in the healthcare industry. Improving the services at clinic.
Health experts have urged African countries to take greater responsibility for developing their health workforce, increase domestic funding and integrate community health workers into national health systems to address persistent shortages of health professionals across the continent.
The experts made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at the State of Africa’s Health Workforce and Community Health 2026, where discussions focused on workforce planning, investment, recruitment and sustainable access to healthcare.
Dr Luvuyo Bayeni, Chief Director of Health Workforce Development in South Africa and Chair of Health Workforce Technical Team Working Stream One, stressed the need for African countries to take ownership of their health workforce development plans.
Speaking on the plan’s ownership and pillars, Bayeni said countries needed to establish structures that would translate commitments into practical action.
He said effective implementation required clear national leadership, coordinated planning and sustained commitment to addressing workforce shortages.
Also speaking, Dr Fidele Ngabo Gaga, Head of the Division of Community Health Systems and Health Promotion at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), called for inclusive workforce planning.
Gaga said Africa CDC intended to support member states in assessing and evaluating their human resources for health strategies to ensure that all categories of health workers were adequately represented.
He said community health workers must be recognised as an integral part of the health workforce and included in national human resource planning, policy development and implementation.
According to him, their integration must go beyond policy documents to ensure they were fully recognised within national health systems.
On financing, Gaga identified investment gaps, resource mobilisation, governance and leadership as critical areas requiring attention.
He said a dedicated workforce stream would focus on financing and resource mobilisation, with co-chairs drawn from Chad’s Ministry of Finance and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
According to him, the arrangement was intended to strengthen resource mobilisation and promote coordinated investments in health workforce development through closer engagement with financing partners.
Dr Sunny Okoroafor of the Health Workforce Development Unit at the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the plan to recruit two million community health workers across Africa would not, on its own, address the continent’s health workforce shortages.
Okoroafor explained that community health workers had distinct responsibilities and that increasing their numbers would not replace the need for doctors, nurses, midwives and other specialised health professionals.
He said WHO’s needs-based estimates already considered all categories of health workers, including community health workers.
“Even with the two million, we still have a shortage if we do not invest in the other health professionals,” he said.
On remuneration and psychosocial support, particularly for community health workers serving in fragile and conflict-affected areas, Okoroafor said governments must take responsibility for translating international guidance into practical interventions.
He said policies developed by international organisations were intended to guide countries in developing solutions suited to their local realities.
“We need to move away from thinking that policy documents developed at the WHO, UNICEF or other international levels will solve our problems,” he said.
Okoroafor urged governments to develop evidence-based workforce strategies that reflected the needs of their communities, adding that development partners could not address every challenge facing health workers.
He also called for stronger collaboration among the ministries of health, education, labour and public service to ensure workforce plans translated into funded employment positions.
He said health workforce discussions often involved health ministries, development partners, professional bodies and educators but overlooked public service institutions responsible for creating and funding positions.
“We need to have national dialogue where we share evidence, discuss our challenges and develop solutions that take into account expertise across different sectors,” he said.
On career progression, Okoroafor cited Nigeria’s pathway for community health workers, from junior community health extension workers to community health extension workers and community health officers.
He said countries should identify the specific needs community health workers were expected to address and develop appropriate training, career development and employment structures.
Addressing health worker migration, he said the movement of specialists and experienced professionals across borders could deepen shortages in countries that had invested in their training.
He called for stronger implementation of the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel, which provides guidance on ethical international recruitment.
However, he said efforts to manage migration should not focus solely on preventing health workers from leaving their countries but also on improving working conditions and strengthening retention strategies.
According to him, providing accommodation and reliable electricity for health workers in underserved facilities could improve retention by addressing some of their basic welfare needs.
On gender equity, Okoroafor said women constituted a significant proportion of the health workforce and required targeted support to advance professionally.
He said workforce policies should promote equitable opportunities, build capacity and improve working conditions while ensuring interventions were based on fairness rather than preferential treatment.
The event examined strategies for addressing Africa’s health workforce challenges, with emphasis on community health, resource mobilisation, national planning and the retention of skilled professionals.
