Gauteng Department of Health: Gauteng holds health indaba to tackle sector skills challenge

This is being held in order to redress the shortage of skills in the sector and to strengthen partnerships. The scarcity of expertise in health is a global challenge with developing countries being the worst affected.

To be held from 11 to 13 March at the Birchwood Hotel in Gauteng, the Indaba will seek ways to increase the number of health personnel by seeking innovative ways to recruit, enhance training, improve remuneration and map out retention strategies for the workers in this field.

“The skills problem we face needs a unified effort by all stakeholders from the marketing of the profession to matric students, to improving the working conditions of workers, hence the drive to establish a Provincial Human Resource for Health Task Team,” said Mr Brian Hlongwa, GDoH MEC.

The shortage of health professionals is a global challenge which affects developing countries more because of the migration of skills and the increasing burden of disease, Hlongwa said.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there is a global deficit of 4.3 million doctors, nurses, midwives and other health support workers. In Africa about a million more workers are needed to service the population if the continent is to achieve the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

The WHO also reports that sub-Saharan Africa, which has 11 percent of the world's population and 24 percent of the global burden of disease, has only three percent of the world's health workers.

“The gap between the demand and supply of professional health workers will continue to have a negative impact on healthcare delivery in the province until we redress the situation through a synchronized strategy by all stakeholders,” Hlongwa said.

The stakeholders attending the Indaba will include representatives from the government and private sector, nursing colleges, medical universities, hospitals, professional bodies, organised labour and international organisations

The HR Indaba forms part of the department's five-year strategic programme of action which began in 2004 and ends next year.