This paper addresses
one of the key global health challenges today, especially in the poorest
countries: the
influence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic
on the health
workforce. First, we provide an
overview of the impact
of HIV/AIDS on health systems and how this influences demand and supply
of the health
workforce, with a focus on developing countries. Second, we review the impact
of
HIVAIDS on morbidity
and mortality among staff, with specific emphasis on countries in Africa.
Next, we review the
impact of HIV/AIDS on work
force motivation,
performance and migration. Last,
we discuss policy
options for future staff scenarios and potential obstacles, highlighting
policies that
could improve
retention, replacement and replenishment of health workers.
In fragile health
systems, as is
the case in most
resource-constrained countries, the human resource
crisis is the result
of many macroeconomic and governance factors. The crisis is further compounded
by the impacts of the
HIV/AIDS pandemic, which
lead to excessive
workload and burnout, high
worker attrition rates
with no replacement and limited entry into the workforce. The solutions to this
crisis must therefore
include addressing the broader macroeconomic factors as well as the more
proximate factors that
influence human resource-related functions of the health system.
The
World health report
2006
provides the
first-ever global, regional and country profiles of workers
in the health sector
and gives new evidence about health worker demographics, as well as
recommendations for
the future human resource fo
r health development.
Our background paper
highlights key data
and discusses complex and often
controversial issues
that
must be addressed in
support of the
report’s goal.
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