Press Release: New Studies Justify US Action on African Health Worker Shortage
NEW YORK - Improved health outcomes in Tanzania are only possible if new health workers are trained and the health systems they work in are significantly strengthened, says the Touch Foundation in two new reports released today.
The reports - the result of in-depth field studies conducted with McKinsey & Company - outline the current state of health care in Tanzania and provide a workable blueprint for improvement.
There are approximately 1,300 doctors to cover Tanzania's population of 40 million - that is just one doctor for every 30,000 people. The shortage of health workers is by no means limited to Tanzania; a new study in the journal Health Affairs last month points to the dramatic need for 800,000 health workers throughout Africa.
"We will never witness real health improvements in Africa without greater investment in the number of trained doctors, nurses and other health professionals," explained Touch Foundation President Lowell Bryan, who is also a Director at McKinsey & Company. "The US Government's recognition of the need to train skilled health workers is very encouraging," Bryan added. "You can't create a new generation of doctors and other health workers overnight so starting now makes good sense."
One of the largest donors in global health - the US President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) - is now emphasizing the need to train more health workers in order to control HIV/AIDS and other diseases globally, particularly in Africa. The program is now supporting developing countries' efforts to train at least 140,000 new healthcare workers in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care.
Recognizing the Touch Foundation's success in training health workers in the Lake Zone region, the Tanzanian Minister of Health approached the foundation to develop a viable plan to rapidly expand the health workforce across the country.
The resulting study, Action now on the Tanzanian health workforce crisis, offers an operational plan that can double health worker training capacity in ten years. The government of Tanzania has already adopted these findings into their national healthcare strategy and a recent application to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
"The Touch Foundation's rigorous analysis of scaling up the training system provides a costed blueprint to address the dire shortage of health professionals," said Dr. Gilbert Ronald Mliga, Director of Human Resources Development at the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
The second study Catalyzing Change: Molecular strengthening of the health system in the Tanzanian Lake Zone, demonstrates how and why the health system must be strengthened to support new staff if real improvements are to be made. Consequently, the report "identifies practical steps to strengthen the health system."
For example, the report places a strong emphasis on improving management, leadership and the mindset of health workers. Ultimately, these changes will discourage health workers from leaving the healthcare profession and encourage quality care for millions of people who are currently unable to access it. The study was conducted across the rural Lake Zone region of Tanzania, representing more than one-third of the country's population, which is a microcosm of health provision across sub-Saharan Africa.
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About the Touch Foundation: The two reports, Action now on the Tanzanian health workforce crisis and Catalyzing Change: Molecular strengthening of the health system in the Tanzanian Lake Zone, can be found here. The Touch Foundation is a secular, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that aims to improve access to basic healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa by working with our partners to overcome two fundamental problems: 1) critical shortage of health workers, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and lab technicians; and 2) weaknesses of existing health systems. Touch Foundation's approach to solving these problems is unique in that we combine the best of private and public sector approaches and expertise, leveraged from our partnerships with governments, corporations, development partners, and nonprofits. Our model is to engage local leaders from the beginning in order to help rebuild their existing healthcare system, rather than building a parallel one.
In particular, the reports draw on the Touch Foundation's efforts since 2004 to dramatically expand the Weill Bugando medical training university and teaching hospital, one of the four largest medical centers in the country. The two institutions serve over fifteen million people in its predominantly rural catchment area. When the Foundation opened its doors in 2004, there were only 10 medical students enrolled at Bugando. Over 800 students are now enrolled, more than 25 percent of whom are studying to become doctors; the rest are training to become nurses, radiographers, laboratory technicians and other health professions. Over the next five years, the medical university is expected to double the number of doctors in the Lake Zone region.
Contact:
Emily Bell, Touch Foundation, Emily_Bell@mcksinsey.com ; 1-917-847-8636