Responding to the health workforce crisis in Africa, 14 African countries and several international organizations have joined forces to form the Africa Health Workforce Observatory. The Capacity Project partnered with the East, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA) Health Community, the World Health Organization and the World Bank to accelerate the establishment of the Observatory and co-hosted its initial meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, in September 2006.

The four-day event focused on developing mechanisms to improve human resources for health (HRH) policies and practices across the region. The Project and partners have produced a 30-page report on the Arusha meeting that is being disseminated at several key meetings in March, including the High Level Technical Consultation in Botswana, the AU Conference of Health Ministers in South Africa and the ECSA Health Ministers Meeting in Tanzania. Project staff will participate in these meetings to present HRH policy issues and recommendations, discuss next steps and plan for the Observatory conference to be held later this year. This work reflects the Project’s efforts to foster collaborative global partnerships to address HRH issues and contribute to effective solutions.

March 2007