Conferences & Events

This report, Action against Sexual Harassment at Work in Asia and the Pacific, is intended to serve as a technical report for discussion at the ILO Regional Tripartite Seminar on Action against Sexual Harassment at Work, to be held in Penang, Malaysia from 2 to 4 October, 2001. The aims of the technical report, prepared for the ILO Regional Tripartite Seminar, are to familiarize participants with the phenomenon of sexual harassment at work and to give an overview of initiatives and good practice for its prevention and elimination as taken by governments, employers’, workers’ and women’s organizations.

The first meeting ever held in Africa on the crisis facing the health workforce in which a large number of stakeholders met face-to-face to exchange views and initiate processes that could lead to development of solutions. The meeting endorsed the relevance of education and training of health professionals to the health needs of the population served, the importance of forging new partnerships between the health and education sectors, the urgency of facilitating retention and optimal utilization of the health workforce in the African work environment, recognition of the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the health workforce, and the impact of globalization.

This conference aimed to address the global health care workforce shortage: what has been done and what steps are still needed to solve this critical problem. The meeting linked research, policy and action for global human resources for health. [publisher’s description]

Video and transcripts from both days of the conference are available.

This meeting discussed the role of medical schools in the process of development and implementation for national health policies and plans, the need for medical education reforms to respond to national health challenges within the context of global and regional health strategies, the way forward for enhancing the capacity of medical schools to produce adequate human resources for health, and the formulation of recommendations for regular institutional evaluation. [adapted from executive summary]

This overview paper highlights the key messages and issues presented in the country reports submitted by national nurses’ associations (NNAs) at the 12th International Council of Nurses (ICN) Workforce Forum held in Copenhagen 25-26 September 2006. Participating NNAs submitted written reports on major agenda items: environmental scan; outsourcing; alliances; occupational health and safety; private sector for profit health enterprises; positive practice environments; and future options. [from introduction]

The Women’s Health and Gender Directorate and the Gender Focal Point of the National Department of Health and the South African Gender-Based Violence & Health Initiative co-hosted a two-day workshop to initiate a process of developing an appropriate health sector response to gender-based violence. It was held from the 26-27th March 2001 with 43 participants from all provinces, national government as well as NGO stakeholders. This document is a report of the conference and the issues discussed. [from executive summary]

This document contains 4 background briefs, a paper entitled “Reality Demands Some Breaks with Traditions,” and a summary and outcomes of discussions about human resources for health from the 2001 Health Summit. The main areas of discussion were the migration of professionals strengthening the work ethos, representivity of the professions and scopes of practice.

This report details the findings of the Forum on Engaging the Private Sector in Child Health held in Uganda in 2005. It discusses the potential of private providers and the private sector as a resource for improving community health outcomes. [from executive summary]

This report is the result of a regional meeting held March 17-19 in Arusha, Tanzania and presents the regional context for work on migration and retention; an overview of the current situation, integrating evidence from background papers and country experiences; and summarizes the discussions held on follow-up work on migration and retention. [adapted from introduction]

The world is facing a devastating heal worker shortage. This is one of the critical bottlenecks to reaching international health and development goals, including the goal of universal access to HIV treatment, prevention, care and support. Conversely, the HIV epidemic has further exacerbated the health workforce crisis. This session aims to advance global thinking about AIDS, health and development to foster mutually beneficial outcomes by unpacking the synergies between the AIDS and health systems agendas, using their interconnectivity to forge a common agenda, in support of national scaling up towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. [from conference summary]

As a key contribution toward increasing human capacity in national health systems, the Capacity Project is hosting a series of Human Resources for Health (HRH) Action Workshops. The initial workshop—held in Johannesburg in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme/Southern Africa Capacity Initiative (UNDP/SACI)—facilitated the exchange of knowledge and best practices in planning, developing and supporting the health workforce. The three and one-half day workshop brought together 38 HRH leaders from 11 countries (Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Sudan, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia). Almost all of the participants are senior HRH directors or practitioners working at the operational level within the Ministry of Health in their respective countries. Two representatives from faith-based organizations also attended.

This resource is coverage from the XVI International AIDS Conference, 2006 and contains the video and podcast from the sessions: “‘Treat, Train, Retain’: The AIDS and Health Workforce Strategy. A Partnership to Address the HRH Crisis Towards Universal Access”; “The Malawian Government’s Emergency Human Resources Programme”; “Human Resources and Public Sector Scale Up – The Way Forward”; and “Health Care for the People.”

This is a report of a Workshop organised by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, with the objectives of building the evidence base for Human Resources for Health (HRH) in Europe by identifying the key policy questions that policy makers face in HRH, agreeing upon an agenda for development of options, and undertaking further validation of the WHO HQ/HRH framework. The workshop allowed further exploration of the framework and validation for theEuropean region; and, with the participation of policy makers, enabled the identification of thekey HRH issues/policy questions for the region, and identification of initial priorities for building capacity and action.

Some 60 participants from ministries of health, multilateral and bilateral international agencies, foundations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and professional organizations discussed and debated a range of issues in order to contribute to the objectives of this workshop, which were to: further the development of an HRH framework for policies; identify policy questions and agree upon an agenda for development of policy options; identify gaps in evidence and priorities for obtaining evidence on which to base policy; build capacity and partnership for action at country level. [author’s des

This report is the result of the meeting of the 47th Directing Council and 58th session of the Regional Committee in Washington DC. It is a summary of actions and proposals for a plan of action on human resources for health in the Americas submitted for the consideration of the Directing Council. This document summarizes the activities carried out to date in the countries and in the Governing Bodies. It provides an overview of the situation and the predominant trends in the Region, as well as a vision of the technical proposals and agreements for activities that are being developed. [adapted

This speech contends that a well performing workforce is the most critical determinant of the performance of services. Well functioning infrastructures and equipment do not serve if the people who deliver the services are not there (be it that there are none available, that they are absent from work, or that they are on strike). Well trained health workers, without the appropriate tools and supplies cannot do much either. And even when all ingredients are there, if workers are not motivated, services underperform. Advocacy to convince policy and decision-makers, as well as international agencies and donors to do something to improve the performance of the health workforce (HW) has been fervent these last 3-4 years, and it has been quite successful.

This workshop report provides an analysis of the problems and opportunities of the rapid private sector growth occurring in many countries, and presents case study materials from Pakistan, India, Uganda and Cambodia. [publisher’s description]

While the need to measure performance in the field of family planning and reproductive health care FP/RH) is widely recognized, there is no consensus on a standard definition of the term. Consequently, when organizations and projects describe or measure performance, particularly in the context of health worker or program evaluations, the term may be used in ambiguous and confusing or even contradictory ways. [author’s description]

This is a summary report from the Africa Health Workforce Observatory meeting held September 26-29, 2006, at the ECSA headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The meeting focused on developing mechanisms to create up-to-date and reliable information that enables evidence-based decision making for HRH. [adapted from author’s description]

This is a report on the proceedings of the 2003 National Health Forum on Community Partnerships for Health Development, which was held at Novotel, Accra from 26-28 February. One hundred and fifty delegates, representing GHS staff, MOH staff, the donor community, and international and local NGOs, assembled for the Opening Ceremony. The three-day event was organized under a theme for each day. Measuring Progress was the theme for the first day; Innovations and Lessons Learnt was the theme for day two, whilst Rolling Out CHPS was the theme for the final day. [From executive summary]

One Million More presents some of the interventions, debates, discussions and conclusions of a conference held in London from 21–22 March 2006. The conference was organised to create a stimulating and interactive forum to discuss the crisis in human resources for health, in an effort to influence national, regional and international policies for the promotion of sustainable skills capacity in Africa and to engage the African diaspora in innovative, practical steps to move the agenda forward. [author’s description]

Note: This document is no longer available online.

This is a three hour webcast of a panel discussion from the United Nations 2006 High-Level Meeting on AIDS. The discussion focuses on health worker shortages and human resource impediments to HIV/AIDS treatment.

Note: You must install the free RealPlayer software in order to view this webcast.

The African Church Health Associations’ Human Resources for Health Mini-Forum was held to re-energize the CHA’s human resources working group. The objectives of the forum were to: expand the HRH knowledge base; help develop a critical mass of faith-based HRH advocates; clarify the “Terms of Reference” for an HRH working group and plan for sustainability and next steps; and to generate action plans for HRH practices and identify technical assistance needs. [adapted from author]

The Capacity Project helped to organize and facilitate a regional Human Resources for Health (HRH) Action Workshop in Accra, Ghana, September 23-28, 2007. Participants came together with the overall purpose of exchanging knowledge and best practices in planning, developing and supporting the health workforce in order to improve health workforce management capacity and strategic development at the country level.

As a key contribution toward increasing human capacity in national health systems, the Capacity Project is hosting a series of Human Resources for Health (HRH) Action Workshops. The initial workshop—held in Johannesburg in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme/Southern Africa Capacity Initiative (UNDP/SACI)—facilitated the exchange of knowledge and best practices in planning, developing and supporting the health workforce.

The three and one-half day workshop brought together 38 HRH leaders from 11 countries (Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Sudan, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia).

This report summarizes the speeches and discussions from the Practice to Policy: Global Perspectives in Nursing conference in 2006. Both healthcare professionals and th system are faced with a number of ongoing challenges, which may require a shift in organizational policy and can affect the way nurses practice. Nurses are and integral part of the healthcare system and play a key role in influencing these changes. Nurses’ voices need to be heard, and they must be able to articulate what they do. This will ensure open communication with policy and decision makers and facilitate an understanding of different cultures.

This is an overview of the Asian Action Learning Network on Human Resources for Health. Its objectives were: to share and discuss country problems, experiences, and priority actions required on human resource for health, to build up commitment on the establishment of the Asian Action Learning Network on HRH as a probable regional hub of the Global HRH platform, to develop the shared vision on the common goal of the Asian Action Learning Network on HRH, and to o develop a work plan for the Asian Action Learning Network on HRH, which covers the areas of information, research, capacity building and networking.

The Asian Action Learning Alliance is a response to international recognition of the need for global and regional action to strengthen country planning and action. There have been several key events and meetings, which have highlighted the issue. The meeting of key global and regional health development experts held in Oslo in February 2005 is an important global landmark which called for Global and Regional Platforms of action to be formed. [author’s description]

This working paper is from the African regional consultative meeting on human resources for health (HRH) in Brazzavile, Congo. It describes the issues in health systems and HRH in the region and outlines the strategies and actions required for improvement. The document also discusses the Observatory of Health Human Resources for Africa, which was proposed as a cooperative network initiative among the countries and different partners of the region to produce the information and knowledge necessary for improving human resources policy decisions, and to share the country experiences in order to improve human resource development in the health services. [adapted from author]

Public-Private health sector Interactions (PPI) are on the increase in South Africa. However, there are few mechanisms for the two sectors to routinely engage with each other. Such mechanisms are necessary to allow all stakeholders to understand better the motivations of, and the challenges that face, each sector and are a key part of the process of building trust between the sectors. The overall purpose of PPIs, and therefore of engagement between the public and private sectors, is to strengthen the overall health system for the benefit of all South Africans. [author’s description]