THE 5TH FORUM OF THE AFRICAN PLATFORM ON HRH, 19 -21 APRIL, 2017, KAMPALA.

Dear Colleagues,

Here is our topic for March and April, 2017.

The African Platform on Human Resources for Health will hold the 5th African HWF Forum in Kampala, Uganda, from Wednesday 19th to Friday 21st April 2017. The African Platform is the regional arm of the Global Health Workforce Network (GWN) that was launched in Geneva last December, 2016 as the successor the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA).

Emerging evidence from the studies leading to the development of the new Global Health Workforce Strategy shows that despite spirited advocacy and several interventions in Education and Training, HWF management and campaigns over the last decade, African HWF densities have stagnated and have worsened in some countries. At the same time there are several global developments such as the SDGs, the new Global Health Workforce Strategy, the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth and the Five-Year Action Plan to implement its recommendations. The African Union Commission has also launched a new Health Strategy during 2016.

Against this background, the governing Board of the African Platform and 3rd Congress of the African Health System Governance Network (ASHGOVNET) specifically requested the African Platform to convene the forum of member networks, African countries and partners. The congress further requested the African Platform to work with the Africa Regional office of the World Health Organisation (WHO/Afro), and partners to urgently put in place an enhanced technical support program for African Countries with the aim:

a. To strengthen country level health workforce leadership, development and management structures, especially at the ministries of health in member states. This will include mobilising other relevant sectors and actors at country level such as professional associations and civil society organizations.

b. To support African Member states in translating for action key regional and global health policy developments as enumerated above.

c. To fast track the strengthening of Health Workforce information systems in countries. This is needed to facilitate leadership, planning and management of HWF inflows, stocks and outflows as well as implementing the WHO Code on International Recruitment of Health Personnel. The result will be improved reporting on the code for the 3rd round due next year in 2018.

What are the Specific Objectives of this Forum?

• The Forum will review the status of implementation of the “Road map for scaling up human resources for health for improved health service delivery in the African Region 2012–2025” that was launched in 2012.
• The participants will gain a deep understanding of relevant recent developments such as the “Global strategy on human resources for health: (Workforce 2030)”; the African Health Strategy.; the Five-Year Action Plan to implement the recommendations of the High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth .

• The implications for African countries of the establishment of the Global Health Workforce Network (GHWN), at the WHO secretariat in Geneva will be discussed and management of the relationships will be agreed.

• The forum will prepare the African the HWF for their role in advancing the movement towards Universal Health Coverage, as a part of the means to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa.
• Joint learning will take place and opportunities for collaboration at all levels will be facilitated resulting in vibrant exchange and sharing of regional experiences.
• The forum will provide the opportunity to build an informed African voice for active engagement and participation at the 4th Global Forum on Human Resources for Health, scheduled to be held in Dublin, Ireland from 13-17 November 2017.

The Forum will be conducted through Plenary, Break out and Poster sessions under the following five thematic streams:

• HWF Education and Training;
• Preparing the African HWF for Universal Health Coverage ;
• Leadership for Development, Management and Regulation;
• Nursing; as the Backbone of the Health System
• HWF Migration

At the end, A Forum report and an Action Plan for renewed energy and accountability will be released.

What profile of participants do we expect? Participation at this Forum is open to a broad range of stakeholders especially from the African region to include but not limited to:

Country HRH Leaders, Directors and other senior Officials from relevant Sectors, WHO Headquarters and WHO Afro Regional Offices, Members of the UN Family, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP, IOM Regional Inter-government Bodies, African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities, African Development Bank, Deans and Principals of Health Professional Training Institutions, Health Professional Associations, Civil Society Organizations, The media, International Partners and Development Partners.

I request for your advice, guidance and of course participation at this important event.

Yours Sincerely,

Francis.