Health Workers

Top 5 Reasons the Global Health Community Should Have Its Eyes on Recife

This post was originally published on the IntraHealth International blog.

From November 9-13, mDr. Kate Tulenkoore than 1,200 of the world’s top decision-makers and thought leaders on the health workforce will convene in Recife, Brazil, for the Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health

If you work in any aspect of the field of global health for any type of organization, the proceedings of the Forum should be important to you. Here are the top five reasons: Read more »

Two Projects Working Together to Strengthen the Health Workforce in Uganda

How can a global project and a country-specific project work together to strengthen the health workforce and increase access to quality care? What about in Uganda, where there are only 14 doctors, nurses, and midwives for every 10,000 people?

The CapacityPlus global project and the Uganda Capacity Program are both funded by USAID and led by IntraHealth International. CapacityPlus has worked in over 20 countries to address the health workforce shortage, and offers tools that can be adapted for any country. The Uganda Capacity Program builds the capacity of local Ugandan institutions—like ministries, professional health councils, and universities—to plan for, develop, and strengthen the management of health workers. Read more »

Health Workers: Key to Family Planning and Reproductive Health

“To talk about sexual and reproductive health, and not to talk about human resources for health—then the equation is not complete,” says Patrick Mugirwa, a program officer with Partners in Population and Development (PPD) Africa Regional Office. “So for PPD to have meaningful advocacy for sexual and reproductive health, of necessity human resources for health must be one of the major components we must advocate for.”

A CapacityPlus associate partner, PPD is an intergovernmental alliance that promotes South-South cooperation toward attainment of the global population and reproductive health agenda for sustainable development. Read more »

Information Is Never More Powerful than When It’s Shared

This post was originally published on the IntraHealth International blog.

CapacityPlus develops the core iHRIS software and releases updates.

Data, data, data—they’re the fuel that powers any robust national health care system. They can propel a country toward the Shangri-La of universal health coverage—or they can hold one back. IntraHealth’s Dykki Settle answers five questions about how the right information in the right hands could pave the way to health care for all. Read more »

Using Data to Successfully Advocate for Health Workforce Funding

In Mbale District, Uganda, one exhausted midwife—widely loved by her community and usually fantastic at her job—found herself snapping at her clients and being rude. For days, she’d been working without rest at a clinic that offers 24-hour maternity care. And she was burned out.

She’s not alone. The country’s vast shortage of health workers has left almost half the jobs in the health sector empty and the other half filled with staff who are overworked to the breaking point. In Mbale, clinicians could give patients only about five minutes of their time, which led to far too many mistaken diagnoses and prescriptions. Read more »

Strengthening Health Workforce Data for Improved Health Service Delivery

To improve health services, Uganda is focusing on the people that provide quality care. In our new video, Ugandan health workers, managers, and leaders show how the country’s efforts are paying off—and how service delivery has improved. The following story highlights one aspect of this work.

“My office is like a web. All information about human resources is needed in my office,” explains Ojulun Joreme. He’s the principal personnel officer for Dokolo District in Uganda. “Left and right I have to keep giving out information about each individual.” Read more »

Motivated to Do More

Monica Watuvamu is already serving her community as a nurse and midwife at Kamuli Mission Hospital in Uganda. But she wants to do more.

“I’ve been actually going back to school,” she says, “to upgrade and improve my knowledge and skills.” The hospital is contributing to the costs, which is a big help. “I’ve been motivated, and I’m still motivated to help patients so that they get better.”

Working in the ultrasound unit, Monica recently discovered that a woman had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, which she knew to be an extremely dangerous and life-threatening condition. Monica moved quickly to get the woman into surgery, and a disaster was averted. “The following day,” she recalls, “all these people [at the hospital] were really happy that I managed to find it out and that the patient was helped.” Read more »

Improving Health Workforce Leadership and Management

To improve health services, Uganda is focusing on the people that provide quality care. In our new video, Ugandan health workers, managers, and leaders show how the country’s efforts are paying off—and how service delivery has improved. The following story highlights one aspect of this work.

Dr. WaniayeDr. John Baptist Waniaye was working as a medical officer when he realized he wanted to take on a new role. “I opted to go into management for health [because] I realized that there are gaps which when you’re a leader and a manager you can easily fix and make the environment very good for the health workers. And that is my drive—I want to see that health workers have what they need in order to offer their services and that our patients are happy.” Read more »

Venciendo las barreras de género: Yo soy una trabajadora de la salud de la cadena de suministros

El Ministerio de Salud de El Salvador tiene a nivel nacional 111 almacenes y solo 2, son dirigidos por mujeres. Yesenia Aguirre de Barahona es una de esas dos mujeres, se desempeña como guardalmacén de la Región Paracentral. El almacén abastece 73 centros de salud para una población beneficiaria de 882,243 personas.

Graduada como Licenciada en Mercadotecnia, tiene 23 años trabajando en la cadena de suministros en el sistema de salud salvadoreño, y siete como guardalmacén de medicamentos. A pesar de que tiene una gran experiencia, se enfrenta a algunos desafíos debido a ser mujer en un papel por lo general ocupado por los hombres. Read more »

Nigeria Minister of Health Cites Importance of Health Workforce Issues

Recently at the 2nd National HRH conference in Nigeria, with the theme “Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria: Role of Human Resources for Health,” the Federal Minister of Health, Professor C.O. Onyebuchi Chukwu, celebrated CapacityPlus for our good works in the area of health systems strengthening. Read more »

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