Human Resources For Health
Increasing access to basic health care—and responding to critical needs like HIV/AIDS, malaria and maternal health—relies on mobilizing health care leaders and workers where they are most needed. Yet shortages and poor distribution of health workers pose serious problems in many developing countries. IntraHealth is a leader in building local talent to respond to these challenges at every level of the health care continuum—from the systems that support health workers to the health providers themselves and the communities they serve. IntraHealth leads the Capacity Project, a global USAID-funded initiative to help low-income countries build and sustain the health care workforce. The project is assisting more than 20 countries to strengthen human resources for health (HRH). We work by 1) rapidly assessing the HRH situation, 2) building strong alliances and stakeholder leadership and support to address the specific challenges highlighted, and 3) designing and supporting the implementation of practical and creative solutions to tackle the problems.
Our key approaches include:
- Strengthening human resources information systems
- Fostering data driven decision-making related to workforce planning, development and support
- Developing health care standards, policies and protocols
- Enhancing HR management
- Helping to decentralize health care services
- Making education and training programs more efficient and effective
- Improving licensing and accreditation
- Task shifting among health workers to increase access to services
- Strengthening health professional associations
- Expanding global knowledge on human resources for health through our HRH Global Resource Center.