[afro-nets] Health Workforce in AIDS-Impacted Countries

[Janet Feldman <kaippg@earthlink.net>]

Endorsements Needed: "Health Workforce in AIDS-Impacted Coun-
tries"
-------------------------------------------------------------

HealthGAP has decided to release this platform (below) on World
Health Day on April 7. We will continue to collect endorsements
until that date. Please send your name, name of your org, and
state/country to Paul Davis at pdavis@healthgap.org.

Some important new groups have come on board, including Eliza-
beth Glazer, amFAR, Oxfam international, and several entire hos-
pital organizations in Kenya and Nigeria. These join an already
very powerful and lengthy list of NGOs and world-recognized ex-
perts who are helping push for this new initiative.

Still missing: more student groups, South African networks, and
more domestic US health organizations, for anyone able to pro-
mote this effort in these additional circles. Europe is making a
modest showing, and we need more help from Japan as well. Also,
in the US, any groups from IA, NH, SC, PA, FL, MN or OH are im-
portant to us right now looking at some of the potential legis-
lative targets.

Thank you for all your help!
Paul Davis
Health GAP (Global Access Project)
Tel.: +1-215-833-4102 (mobile)
mailto:pdavis@healthgap.org


--
Urgent Call for U.S. Initiative on Health Workforce in AIDS-
Impacted Countries

(January 1 2006) The critical shortage of health care workers
and weak health systems is the key bottleneck to scaling up
access to AIDS treatment. While the needs of individual countries
must be determined locally, experts estimate that sub-Saharan
Africa needs at least 1 million new health workers to meet es-
sential health needs. Sustained commitment and creative action
are necessary to develop and support the health workforce needed
to secure the right to health and achieve universal access to
AIDS treatment by 2010, as well as other international health goals.


We urge the President of the United States and Members of Con-
gress to lead a global health workforce initiative in AIDS
ravaged countries.

The U.S. should:

1. Invest significant new resources in a number of impoverished
countries to recruit, train, support, and effectively utilize
the number of health workers needed to achieve universal access
to AIDS treatment for all in need by 2010 and universal access
to primary health care by 2015, while supporting a new G8 ini-
tiative to assist additional countries. The U.S. should contrib-
ute 1/3 of the funds needed, approximately $650 million in 2007
and scaling up over ensuing years. The U.S. contributions should
support national human resource plans within the context of com-
prehensive country health plans that improve health systems per-
formance to achieve sustainable results. Funding should be pre-
dictable and long-term, flowing directly to the public sector
and local NGO and faith-based care providers as appropriate. The
U.S. should also support effective regional and global initia-
tives.

The U.S. should invest in
(a) long-term strategic planning;
(b)strengthening and expanding capacity of health training in-
stitutions;
(c) retaining health workers through adequate compensation, safe
and improved work conditions, stronger supervision, continuing
education, and care including AIDS treatment;
(d) human resource and fiscal management;
(e) equitable distribution including incentives to work in un-
derserved areas;
(f) re-deploying unemployed health workers.

2. Cover costs to public health systems of implementing PEPFAR
and other U.S. initiatives. U.S. agencies should support train-
ing and retention for at least the number of indigenous health
workers necessary to meet program goals. Aggressive proactive
measures must be adopted to avoid drawing from other local
health priorities or programs.

3. Launch a substantial community health worker initiative to
train, compensate, and deploy community members, especially
women and PLWHA, to provide basic care, treatment, prevention
services, and referrals. Community health workers should have
access to care, including AIDS treatment, and be offered a ca-
reer pathway. The program should be integrated into primary
health systems, and ensure adequate supervision, support, and
ongoing training.

4. Reduce brain drain by increasing the number of U.S. health
professional graduates and improving U.S. health worker distri-
bution. The U.S. government and professional health communities
should expand training opportunities in the U.S., discourage ac-
tive recruitment from poor nations, and work with developing and
developed countries and international organizations to develop
migration and recruitment policies that mutually benefit source
and destination countries. Some experts estimate that the U.S.
will need to increase the annual number of medical school gradu-
ates by at least 5,000 and of nursing graduates by at least
25,000 over the next 10-15 years.

5. Create new possibilities for U.S. and diaspora health workers
to serve abroad to help meet immediate care and treatment needs
while providing training and support to strengthen health sys-
tems. The U.S. should develop programs in cooperation with local
governments, prioritize strengthening local institutions, and
support South-South exchanges.

6. Convene and support country-level teams of all stakeholders
to devise and implement coordinated plans to achieve universal
access to health services. The U.S. should provide technical as-
sistance and facilitate the country team's access to all neces-
sary sources of external funding. Cross-sectoral country-level
planning is necessary to promote national ownership, donor coor-
dination, and cross-sectoral planning and harmonization.

7. Contribute 1/3 of the predicted need of the Global Fund to
fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, for both the coming year
and, gradually, a sum equivalent to an additional year to alle-
viate donor shortfalls and enable more ambitious applications.
Health systems strengthening must be sustained as a category of
GFATM financing.

8. Reform IMF-supported spending and wage policies that limit
national and donor investments in health and education. Barriers
to access such as user-fees for health and education should be
eliminated. The U.S. should provide funds to compensate for lost
revenue and support increased utilization of services.

9. Remove Congressional and agency limits to funding recurrent
expenses, salaries, and sectorwide approaches, and allow flexi-
bility to agencies seeking to strengthen health systems and
scale-up access to care and prevention.

The undersigned organizations and experts urge the President of
the United States and Congress to adopt and implement this plat-
form.

http://www.healthgap.org