Bulletin of the World Health Organization
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Bull. World Health Organ. · Nov 2013
Strengthening human resources for health through multisectoral approaches and leadership: the case of Cameroon.
Cameroon has a severe shortage of human resources for health (HRH) and those that are available are concentrated in urban areas. ⋯ In the improvement of HRH, strong leadership is needed to ensure effective coordination and communication between the many different stakeholders. A national process of coordination and facilitation can produce a consensus-based view of the main HRH challenges. Once these challenges have been identified, the stakeholders can plan appropriate interventions that are coordinated, evidence-based and coherent.
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Bull. World Health Organ. · Nov 2013
Human resources for health and universal health coverage: fostering equity and effective coverage.
Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) involves distributing resources, especially human resources for health (HRH), to match population needs. This paper explores the policy lessons on HRH from four countries that have achieved sustained improvements in UHC: Brazil, Ghana, Mexico and Thailand. Its purpose is to inform global policy and financial commitments on HRH in support of UHC. ⋯ First, HRH are critical to the expansion of health service coverage and the package of benefits; second, HRH strategies in each of the AAAQ dimensions collectively support achievements in effective coverage; and third, success is achieved through partnerships involving health and non-health actors. Facing the unprecedented health and development challenges that affect all countries and transforming HRH evidence into policy and practice must be at the heart of UHC and the post-2015 development agenda. It is a political imperative requiring national commitment and leadership to maximize the impact of available financial and human resources, and improve healthy life expectancy, with the recognition that improvements in health care are enabled by a health workforce that is fit for purpose.
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Bull. World Health Organ. · Nov 2013
Health workforce contributions to health system development: a platform for universal health coverage.
In the 1970s, Thailand was a low-income country with poor health indicators and low health service coverage. The local health infrastructure was especially weak. ⋯ A competent, committed health workforce helped strengthen the PHC system at the district level. Keeping the policy focus on the development of human resources for health (HRH) for an extended period was essential, together with a holistic approach to the development of HRH, characterized by the integration of different kinds of HRH interventions and the linking of these interventions with broader efforts to strengthen other health system domains.