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One of the current recommendations for tackling the health sector staffing crisis faced by many countries is that they should have comprehensive and coherent human resources for health (HRH) strategic plans. Such plans normally include strategies for strengthening performance of staff, improving staff retention and adapting to any major structural changes that may be occurring. A key component of the wider HRH strategic plan is a workforce plan. This plan enables senior managers to scan and analyze human resources (HR) data routinely, determine relevant policy questions and institute policies to ensure that adequate numbers of staff with appropriate skills are available where and when they are needed. [author’s description]

Health workers play a key role in screening for and treating the consequences of gender-based violence, and female health workers may themselves experience GBV, compromising their ability to work. Training health workers to identify, treat and respond effectively to GBV is essential for the health sector and the communities that health workers serve. The Capacity Project conducted a search of existing training modules and training support materials on GBV, particularly those intended for health care personnel. The purpose of this activity was to identify and review existing GBV training modules that could be adapted and/or integrated into pre-service education or in-service training curricula in developing countries. [adapted from author]

Various tools and approaches can help accelerate the process of providing health care workers with the skill sets needed to tackle current health care needs. To this end, the Capacity Project has identified and categorized existing tools and approaches that support health cadres in learning new skills, especially in the area of HIV/AIDS. In this paper, we briefly describe and give examples of these potential resources, providing web links (where available) in the appendices. [from introduction]

The shortage of trained health professionals is among the main obstacles to strengthening low-income countries health systems and to scaling up HIV/AIDS control efforts. Traditional health practitioners are increasingly depicted as key resources to HIV/AIDS prevention and care. An appropriate and effective response to the HIV/AIDS crisis requires reconsideration of the collaboration between traditional and biomedical health providers (THPs and BHPs). The aim of this paper is to explore biomedical and traditional health practitioners experiences of and attitudes towards collaboration and to identify obstacles and potential opportunities for them to collaborate regarding care for patients with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS. [author’s description]

This paper addresses the health care system from a global perspective and the importance of human resources management (HRM) in improving overall patient health outcomes and delivery of health care services.

The challenges in the health workforce are well known and clearly documented. What is not so clearly understood is how to address these issues in a comprehensive and integrated manner that will lead to solutions. This editorial presents - and invites comments on - a technical framework intended to raise awareness among donors and multisector organizations outside ministries of health and to guide planning and strategy development at the country level. [abstract]

There is currently much debate about the role Global Health Initiatives (GHI) should play in strengthening health systems. There is increasing realization that without more support to help countries build health system capacity, the resources mobilized by GHIs are unlikely to reach their full potential. This paper argues that health-system strengthening requires improving capacity in critical components of health systems in order to get more equitable and sustained improvement across health services and outcomes. This paper discusses these critical components, including human resource development within the broader context of health system strengthening. [adapted from author]

This paper describes strategies for improving the performance of health care workers. Many factors interact to affect the quality of health care. The structure of the health care system, educational opportunities for health practitioners, the administrative system, the pace of change, economic conditions and the technology available may influence the ability of the existing workforce to acquire new skills and implement them in practice. Thus, a comprehensive strategy is needed if the quality of the overall system is to improve, including the development of indicators to measure progress. [author’s description]

This cross-sectional study was carried out in four states that were selected according to geopolitical and administrative criteria to identify the effects of decentralization on health financing and governance policies in Mexico from the perspective of users and providers. The report discusses the effect of decentralization on health service providers and community involvement. Data collection was performed using in-depth interviews with health system key personnel and community leaders, consensus techniques and document analyses. [adapted from author]

An NSDP survey shows strong support for the use of skilled birth attendants and willingness to pay for their services. Widespread use of SBAs holds much promise in helping to meet the UN Millennium Development goal of reducing the maternal mortality rate to around 140 by 2015. The survey results, which also indicate some barriers to SBA use, have enabled the design of an appropriate pilot intervention. [from introduction]

The NGOs that comprise the USAID-funded NGO Service Delivery Program must control costs in order to improve their cost recovery rates. Costs associatied with high staff turnover are an important variable operating expense. An NSDP study of staff turnover has produced interesting findings contributing to new staff retention strategies. [introduction]

The paper responds to a number of questions around what needs to be done to scale up towards universal access to essential health services, including comprehensive HIV services, in developing countries. The submission argues for an emphasis on the three health MDG’s - on HIV/AIDS, on child health and maternal health

NGOs that provide basic health care to the poor must become less dependent on donor support by diversifying their funding. The NGO Service Delivery Program (NSDP), a USAID-funded health care program in Bangladesh, is working with NGOs to find corporate sponsorship. [publisher’s description]

This report focuses on HIV/AIDS home and community care projects and programs that have been able to scale up or reach out, and in doing so have brought an improved quality of life to people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. The initiatives are widely spread geographically, with five from Africa, two from Asia, and one from Latin America. The final chapter of this report revisits some of the main lessons learned through the practices, and examines both commonalities and differences. [adapted from author]

[This case study evaluates the] Drug Resources Enhancement against AIDS and Malnutrition (DREAM) program, created by the Community of Sant’Egidio to fight AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. The project takes a holistic approach, combining Highly Active Anti- Retroviral Therapy (HAART) with the treatment of malnutrition, tuberculosis, malaria, and sexually transmitted diseases. It also strongly emphasizes health education at all levels. DREAM aims to achieve its goals in line with the gold standard for HIV treatment and care. [author’s description]

This report discusses the impacts of malaria on business. It reviews the academic literature on the impacts of malaria on economies and businesses, presents data from survey on the business impacts of malaria, discusses the actions the private sector can take to combat malaria, and reviews examples of business malaria programs. The final section makes some recommendations for businesses considering engagement in malaria control. [adapted from author]

This case study documents Indonesia’s family planning experience with a view to understanding the factors and conditions that led to the remarkable growth in the private sector’s role in delivering family planning services. [from abstract]

This manual is a collection of adaptable tools and guidelines designed to help clinic supervisors and clinic managers achieve objective improvements in the quality of health care. The manual is especially useful for managers supervising integrated health services, who, on any given day, may be called on to support the provision of a full range of primary health services. The manual is designed to complement more detailed standard operating procedures that may be in use for specific services, for example, antiretroviral therapy.

This report of a two-day technical consultation summarizes challenges, lessons learned from promising projects, knowledge and practice gaps, and recommendations for future practice. It suggests guidelines for community involvement in youth reproductive health and HIV prevention at all stages of a project cycle. [publisher’s description]

A participatory assessment process is a valuable starting point for involving all community members, including young people, in YRH and HIV/AIDS program development. YRH and HIV/AIDS program workers need skills in facilitating participatory assessments, especially when youth involvement is a key component. Supporting facilitators to learn by doing is an effective strategy to build skills in using participatory learning and action (PLA) approaches and tools during participatory assessment and throughout the project cycle.

The paper outlines a conceptual framework that integrates the key strategies that must be addressed and linked if policy-makers are to create the kinds of health care system to which the citizens of [central and eastern Europe and Eurasia] are entitled. It examines how financing, coordinated service delivery and quality measures matter independently, and it highlights the need to interweave them effectively with citizen and community participation mechanisms and a far-reaching concern for public health. It also reviews the complex issues that hinder or help the implementation of reforms and suggests how an understanding of context, stakeholders and capacity will be critical to delivering change.

In a single electronic platform, the WHO’s Communicable Disease Global Atlas is bringing together for analysis and comparison standardized data and statistics for infectious diseases at country, regional, and global levels. The analysis and interpretation of data are further supported through information on demography, socioeconomic conditions, and environmental factors. The database includes a category for human resources for health information. Users can download information in reports, charts and maps as well as use the mapping interface to select geographic areas of interest and creat maps of diseases, the location of health facilities and the density of health personnel by category.

This paper reviews the experiences of franchising and discusses the opportunities and implications for governments and donors of franchising for HIV and AIDS services. [from author]

The study aimed to establish the magnitude of migration of health professionals, its causes and to document the associated impacts on service delivery. [author’s description]

This study seeks to describe the existing systems for measuring and monitoring staff performance in the clinical setting and covered public and para-statal hospitals in Ghana. [author’s description]

Partners for Health Reformplus conducted a comprehensive assessment of the public health sector in Côte d’Ivoire to quantify HR available and what is needed to maintain basic health services while scaling up HIV/AIDS services to reach targets at the national level and at the global level through initiatives such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the World Health Organization’s 3 by 5 Initiative, and the Millennium Development Goals. [from abstract]

This report identifies innovative approaches countries are using to address the shortages of health care workers and describes efforts to achieve long-term sustainability. [author’s description]

The broad objective of this paper is to contribute to the retention of health workers in Malawi by providing an enhanced understanding of health workers’ coping strategies, together with the identification of possible strategies that could impact on their retention. [from author]

This report describes global progress on the “3 by 5” (Treating 3 million by 2005: making it happen) project in scaling up access to [HIV/AIDS] antiretroviral therapy and outlines the areas in which important progress has been made and lessons learned. It also outlines the remaining challenges and roadblocks to treatment access. [author’s description]

Chapter 2 (Strengthening Health Systems) provides an overview of HRH related approaches and progress.

Based on a review of the literature and country examples, the brief describes why task shifting is important and highlights some key steps in planning for, developing and supporting cadres involved in task shifting. [author’s description]