Strengthening human resources for health through information, coordination and accountability mechanisms: the case of the Sudan

“…There is a National Human Resources for Health Strategic Plan 2012–2016 which identified the main challenges as “developing capacity for HRH planning and policies, augmenting equitable distribution, improving performance management systems, improving health workforce production, education and training and strengthening HRH functions at decentralized levels” [ 29 , 30 ]. There has been a HRH Observatory since 2007 ( http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/members_partners/member_list/nhrhobs_sudan/en/ ) and a Council for Coordination, composed of representatives of ministries, training institutions, the medical council, trade unions, aid agencies and the private sector, meets quarterly to discuss HRH issues [ 27 ]. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) recognized that shortage of personnel and imbalances in the geographical distribution and in the skill mix of health workers are a major impediment to achieving the health MDGs [ 31 , 32 ].…”

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confidence: 99%

Follow-up on commitments at the Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health: Indonesia, Sudan, Tanzania

et al. 2016

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This study sought to assess actions which Indonesia, Sudan, and Tanzania took to implement the health workforce commitments they made at the Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health (HRH) in November 2013. The study was conducted through a survey of published and gray literature in English and field research consisting of direct contacts with relevant ministries and agencies. Results show that the three countries implemented interventions to translate their commitments into actions. The three countries focused their commitments on improving the availability, geographical accessibility, quality of education, and performance of health workers. The implementation of the Recife commitments primarily entailed initiatives at the central level, such as the adoption of new legislation or the development of accreditation mechanisms. This study shows that action is more likely to take place when policy documents explicitly recognize and document HRH problems, when stakeholders are involved in the formulation and the implementation of policy changes, and when external support is available. The Recife Forum appears to have created an opportunity to advance the HRH policy agenda, and advocates of health workforce development in these three countries took advantage of it.

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“…Capitalizing on this, the country implemented a number of important initiatives including upgrading the health workforce department of the Ministry of Health, establishment of the National Human Resources for Health Observatory and revitalization of health profession education including continuing professional development [ 9 ]. This has enabled some major achievements, including scaling up of health workforce production, with the number of nursing schools jumping from 18 in 2005 to 55 in 2012, expanding coverage of in-service training from 24 to 67 % of the health workforce over the same period, and improving geographic coverage through sanctioning of over 10,000 posts for states and rural areas [ 10 ]. These achievements, however, fall short of stabilizing the national health workforce due to remaining challenges including the high emigration rates.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges to implementation of the WHO Global Code of Practice on International Recruitment of Health Personnel: the case of Sudan

Abu-Agla

Badr

2016

Hum Resour Health

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BackgroundThe WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel (hereafter the WHO Code) was adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2010 as a voluntary instrument to address challenges of health worker migration worldwide. To ascertain its relevance and effectiveness, the implementation of the WHO Code needs to be assessed based on country experience; hence, this case study on Sudan.MethodsThis qualitative study depended mainly on documentary sources in addition to key informant interviews. Experiences of the authors has informed the analysis.ResultsMigration of Sudanese health workers represents a major health system challenge. Over half of Sudanese physicians practice abroad and new trends are showing involvement of other professions and increased feminization. Traditional destinations include Gulf States, especially Saudi Arabia and Libya, as well as the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Low salaries, poor work environment, and a lack of adequate professional development are the leading push factors. Massive emigration of skilled health workers has jeopardized coverage and quality of healthcare and health professional education. Poor evidence, lack of a national policy, and active recruitment in addition to labour market problems were barriers for effective migration management in Sudan. Response of destination countries in relation to cooperative arrangements with Sudan as a source country has always been suboptimal, demonstrating less attention to solidarity and ethical dimensions.The WHO Code boosted Sudan’s efforts to address health worker migration and health workforce development in general. Improving migration evidence, fostering a national dialogue, and promoting bilateral agreements in addition to catalysing health worker retention strategies are some of the benefits accrued. There are, however, limitations in publicity of the WHO Code and its incorporation into national laws and regulatory frameworks for ethical recruitment. The outlook is bleak for Sudan unless the country designs and implements a robust national policy for migration management and unless prospects for source–destination country collaboration improve within a more sound version of the WHO Code.ConclusionsThe WHO Code catalysed some vital steps in managing migration and strengthening the national health workforce in Sudan. Nevertheless, the country has not utilized the full potential of this instrument. Revisions of the WHO Code would benefit much from lessons of its application in the context of developing countries such as Sudan.

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Strengthening human resources for health through information, coordination and accountability mechanisms: the case of the Sudan

Cited by 27 publications

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Developing the health workforce for universal health coverage

Developing the health workforce for universal health coverage

Follow-up on commitments at the Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health: Indonesia, Sudan, Tanzania

Challenges to implementation of the WHO Global Code of Practice on International Recruitment of Health Personnel: the case of Sudan

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