Continuing Professional Development status in the World Health Organisation, Afro-region member states

Abstract

There is evidence of underperformance of the Global Health Indicators, particularly in the WHO Afro-region. Yet, quality, effective healthcare delivery, and access to information about best practice remains a challenge to nurses and midwives in the WHO Afro-region. For nurses and midwives to have the capacity to practice safely and competently they need to engage in mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD). However a composite picture is not available for future project planners, researchers, and policy developers. Published literature from the past five years and professional body webpages were searched. The results of shining a light on the WHO Afro-region member states CPD status revealed strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The strengths lay in the beginnings of mandatory CPD and annual licensure renewal, while the weaknesses revealed inequity of CPD distribution across the region. The opportunities showed international academic partnership with possibilities for further engagement, and the threats were evident in the health context of the Afro-region, the shortage of nurses and the lesser participation of nurses in CPD programs. The illumination of the CPD status in the Afro-region suggests that a revised CPD landscape is necessary to strengthen the relevance and response capacity of nurses and midwives, as key contributors towards the Global Health Indicators.

Rapid scale-up of COVID-19 training for frontline health workers in 11 African countries

“…In addition to ensuring that HCW are competent to prevent, detect and respond to known health threats, health systems need a way to swiftly equip frontline HCW with information about novel and emergent pathogens and to develop competence amidst crises. This can be particularly challenging in resource-limited settings, where HCW are scarce and often maldistributed, and in-service training and opportunities for professional development are limited [ 12 – 14 ].…”

“…In the years following the West Africa Ebola outbreak, the global community committed to substantial investments in global health security and in expanding, strengthening and empowering the health workforce in resource-limited settings [ 16 , 17 ]. For example, across Africa, continuing professional development is increasingly required as part of re-licensure [ 14 ]. However, despite advances in the development of emergency response strategies, surveillance and warning systems and national IPC policies, guidelines and training curricula, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 made it clear that significant gaps remained [ 18 , 19 ].…”

Self-perceived competency of midwives in Kenya: A descriptive cross-sectional study

“…Globally, midwives are expected to update their knowledge and skills for safer practice and improved maternal and newborn health outcomes through continuous professional development (CPD) programmes. 10 , 28 Other external factors, such as learning environment, quality assurance systems and mentoring, support the acquisition of knowledge and overall competence. In-service midwifery education and training enable learners to update and enhance their knowledge and skills in practice.…”

Telementoring initiative for newborn care providers in Kenya, Pakistan and Tanzania

“…One of the primary strategies of the WHO to improve newborn care in facilities is to enhance continuing education opportunities for newborn care providers [31]. Both Tanzania and Kenya have mandatory CPD frameworks in place regulated by national nursing and midwifery authorities [32]. It would, therefore, make sense to allow programmes such as this to count towards official CPD requirements, which may also increase engagement.…”