Project HOPE Applauds the Focus on Health Workforce in the Successful U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit

Washington, DC (16 December 2022)?– As the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit comes to a close, Project HOPE – the global health and humanitarian aid organization – commends the successful Summit for its extensive focus on the health workforce. From the Accelerating Primary Health Care Collaborative (APHC-C) commitment of $415 million per year and PEPFAR’s commitment of $1.1 billion annually to the CDC’s support for National Public Health Institutions, health workers were at the center of nearly every health initiative. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates a projected shortfall of 10 million health workers by 2030, mostly in low- and lower-middle income countries. And this deficit does not include those health workers who died providing care during the pandemic. Focusing the conversation among the Summit leaders on the health workforce greatly elevated this fundamental aspect. The new and expanded support from the U.S. outlined at the Summit will greatly accelerate the recovery of health systems following the shocks of the pandemic and will enable future progress.

“The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit offered an inspiring and promising view into the future of global health this week with its very intentional and forward-looking focus on the backbone of the global health system: the health workforce,” said Rabih Torbay, President & CEO of Project HOPE. “Health workers around the globe – whom are predominantly women – have shown remarkable fortitude and courage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as they relentlessly showed up for their communities, despite so often lacking critical supplies, training, staffing, and support.”

“Increasing fiscal investment in the health workforce is vitally important. Nearly every program to address health in Africa requires capable and qualified health workers for success,” said Jed Meline, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Project HOPE. “Putting greater emphasis on the workers themselves and coordinating across the various programs is essential to improving the impact of the investments by the U.S., the African governments, and all the key stakeholders.”

Project HOPE is proud to have contributed to the initial conceptualization of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Global Health Workforce Initiative, and we commend the Summit for moving those concepts toward reality with tangible funding and action.

Source: Project HOPE