ArticleHuman resources for health2016
A political economy analysis of human resources for health (HRH) in Africa.
Article in Human resources for health, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed.
- Political economy analysis of health: a scoping review of concepts, definitions, frameworks, outcomes, and applications.Health policy and planning · 2026Article
- The intersection of emergency care, human resources and health equity: a comparative mapping of policy and systems in Australia, Canada, Rwanda and South Africa.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Rethinking Human Resources for Health Planning in Labour Markets Disrupted by Conflict-Affected and Fragile Settings Comment on "Human Resources for Health in Conflict Affected Settings: A Scoping Review of Primary Peer Reviewed Publications 2016-2022".International journal of health policy and management · 2026Article
- Optimizing the health workforce for Universal Health Coverage: a framework for analysis and action.Human resources for health · 2025Article
- The pathway to health in all policies through intersectoral collaboration on the health workforce: a scoping review.Health policy and planning · 2024Article
- Human resource challenges in health systems: evidence from 10 African countries.Health policy and planning · 2024Article
- Human Resources for Health in Conflict Affected Settings: A Scoping Review of Primary Peer Reviewed Publications 2016-2022.International journal of health policy and management · 2023Article
- Human resource management in Ethiopian public hospitals.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Improving health workforce governance: the role of multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms and human resources for health units in ministries of health.Human resources for health · 2022Article
- Stakeholder perspectives on proposed policies to improve distribution and retention of doctors in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, India.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Governance Roles and Capacities of Ministries of Health: A Multidimensional Framework.International journal of health policy and management · 2021Article
- Visualizing the drivers of an effective health workforce: a detailed, interactive logic model.Human resources for health · 2021Article
- Developing the health workforce for universal health coverage.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2020Article
- The state of strategic plans for the health workforce in Africa.BMJ global health · 2019Review
- Understanding HRH recruitment in post-conflict settings: an analysis of central-level policies and processes in Timor-Leste (1999-2018).Human resources for health · 2018Article
- Alkaline peptone water enrichment with a dipstick test to quickly detect and monitor cholera outbreaks.BMC infectious diseases · 2017Article
- Affordability of comprehensive community health worker programmes in rural sub-Saharan Africa.BMJ global health · 2017Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite a global recognition from all stakeholders of the gravity and urgency of health worker shortage in Africa, little progress has been achieved to improve health worker coverage in many of the African human resources for health (HRH) crisis countries. The problem consists in how policy is made, how leaders are accountable, how the World Health Organization (WHO) and foreign donors encourage (or distort) health policy, and how development objectives are prioritized in these countries.
methodsThis paper uses political economy analysis, which stems from a recognition that the solution to the shortage of health workers across Africa involves more than a technical response. A number of institutional arrangements dampen investments in HRH, including a mismatch between officials' tenure in office and program results, the vertical nature of health programming, the modalities of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) in health, the structures of the global health community, and the weak capacity in HRH units within Ministries of Health. A major change in policymaking would only occur with a disruption to the political or institutional order. RESULTS/
conclusionsThe case study of Ethiopia, who has increased its health workforce dramatically over the last 20 years, disrupted previous institutional arrangements through the power of ideas-HRH as a key intermediate development objective. The framing of HRH created the rationale for the political commitment to HRH investment. Ethiopia demonstrates that political will coupled with strong state capacity and adequate resource mobilization can overcome the institutional hurdles above. Donors will follow the lead of a country with long-term political commitment to HRH, as they did in Ethiopia.
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