Frontline Health Workers Coalition Supports Inaugural Africa Health Workforce Investment Forum
The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with Member States and partners, including the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, is convening the inaugural Africa Health Workforce Investment Forum in Windhoek, Namibia from May 6 - 8, 2024.
The Forum will engage approximately 150 key decision-makers and actors—including African ministers of health, finance, education, and labor along with donors and civil society—to obtain consensus and commitment on the first-ever Africa Health Workforce Investment Charter.
With a bold target of halving Africa's 5.3-million health workforce shortage, the pioneering Charter aims to mobilize and align domestic and partner funding to strengthen, grow, and retain the continent's health workforce, especially in rural and primary health care settings. Developed by the WHO Regional African Office (WHO/AFRO) in collaboration with Member States and partners, the Charter promotes a multisectoral approach to health workforce development.
Civil society input at the Forum is critical
The Frontline Health Workers Coalition is leading civil society participation at the Forum to share perspectives as organizations and allies working directly with countries and funders to build the health workforce and address challenges. Implementing partners like the Coalition's 40+ organizational members, are critical in the long-term, not only for advocating to secure health workforce investments but also for operationalizing the Charter.
Coalition Director Tina Flores and members of the Coalition's Technical Working Group helped design three Forum sessions:
Operationalizing the Charter
Bridging the education to employment gap: unlocking fiscal space for absorption and employment of newly trained Health workers
Integrating and professionalizing community health workers to strengthen primary health care.
Five experts will represent the Coalition at the Forum:
- Rachel Deussom, Senior Director, Health Practice, Chemonics
- Amina Dorayi, Nigeria Country Director, Pathfinder
- Claire Jones, Senior Health Financing Specialist, Local Health System Sustainability (LHSS) Project, Namibia, Abt Global
- Mei Li, Senior Private Sector Partnerships Officer, Partners in Health
- Janet Muriuki, Senior Director, Health Workforce Development, IntraHealth International.
Follow the Forum
For timely updates on the Forum, follow WHO/AFRO on X and follow the Frontline Health Workers Coalition on LinkedIn.
Other key partners supporting the Forum include the ILO-OECD-WHO Working for Health Programme and its Multi-Partner Trust Fund and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Join us!
The Frontline Health Workers Coalition is an alliance of 42 international organizations urging greater support and strategic investment for all cadres of health workers–including nurses, midwives, and community health workers–around the globe.
Organizations interested in health workforce advocacy can apply to be a member of the Frontline Health Workers Coalition. Donors can provide funding to grow the coalition’s activities or sponsor specific events. Please contact us to discuss how we can collaborate.