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Understanding Health Workforce Productivity at the Facility Level: A New eLearning Course

October 2014 by Rachel Deussom
TAGS: eLearning, Health Systems, Health Workers, Productivity, Rachel Deussom, Service Delivery, Tools

Rachel DeussomPeople drive health systems. In the words of Vujicic and colleagues, health workers are “gatekeepers and navigators for the effective or wasteful application of all other resources.”

The global health community recognizes that there is “no health without a workforce.” Efforts have been made to train, deploy, and retain more health workers in areas where they are most needed. But beyond this, we need those health workers that are already at their jobs to be productive.

What does this mean? Well, imagine that you are a district health manager. Read more »

Social Service Workers Address Ebola’s Widespread Social Impacts

September 2014 by Amy Bess and Alex Collins
TAGS: Alex Collins, Amy Bess, Ebola, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Social Service Workforce

Amy Bess and Alex CollinsThe number of confirmed cases of Ebola is quickly climbing past 6,200. On September 20, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the historic UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), underscoring how a comprehensive, multisectoral response will be ever more critical as Ebola’s far-reaching health, security, political, economic, and social impacts on West Africa become more evident.

For every person infected, many others are affected—family members lose loved ones, children lose their parents, students lose teachers, employers lose key staff, and scores of responders have witnessed extreme suffering and work in exceedingly stressful environments. Read more »

Tracking Graduates from Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College: Progress, Benefits, and Challenges

September 2014 by Rose Mwangi, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College
TAGS: Alumni, Education, Graduate Tracking, Health Workers, Medical Education, MEPI, Preservice, Tanzania, Training

An exultant white building surrounded by lush gardens, the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMUCo) gazes at Mount Kilimanjaro, known as “Mama Kili,” with each sunrise. Located in Moshi, Tanzania, the school has been training physicians for over a decade. The first 15 medical doctors graduated in 2002.

While it is still a young institution, KCMUCo has been working hard to address the unmet health care needs of sub-Saharan Africa by increasing the number of health workers and retaining them in Tanzania. Through the support of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI), the school is focusing on scaling up training, with the number of annual graduates rising to 150 to date. KCMUCo has also updated its programs of study to ensure that medical students are acquiring relevant competencies to provide care for rural and underserved populations. Read more »

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