Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Africa has adopted a regional Health Workforce Management Programme for 2026–2035 aimed at transforming health-sector labor markets by training, employing, and retaining three million additional health workers to strengthen health systems across the continent. The plan reflects a shift from merely increasing training numbers to building sustainable, well-planned, and equitably distributed health systems, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa at its 76th session.
The continent’s health workforce has grown significantly over the past decade, reaching nearly 5.72 million professionals in 2024. However, this remains insufficient, as Africa currently has only about 46% of the health workers needed to meet its population's health service demands. Without decisive action, the shortage may exceed six million workers by 2035.
Despite staff shortages in many health facilities, nearly one million trained health professionals, especially recent graduates, remain unemployed. In many countries, more than half of newly qualified nurses, doctors, and midwives are unable to find work after graduation. This highlights the need to better align education and training with labor market demands, job creation, sustainable financing, and improved long-term health workforce planning.
The new programme offers countries a roadmap to enhance workforce planning, expand quality training, create employment opportunities, and retain skilled professionals in areas where they are most needed. WHO also highlights the economic rationale for investing in health workers, estimating that closing Africa’s workforce gap would require an additional $4 to $6 per person annually.