African countries increased their health workforce from 1.6 million in 2013 to 5.1 million in 2022, alongside improvements in training and data use, a review by the World Health Organization Africa region office has found.1 The decade also saw a 44% increase in the number of countries with national health workforce strategies, from 27 in 2018 to 39 in 2022.
In a foreword to the report Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said that the region had made “giant strides towards ensuring universal access to skilled and motivated health workers,” something she said was “critical for achieving the third Sustainable Development Goal—healthy lives and wellbeing for all at all ages.”
But many challenges remain that require urgent action, …