Health workforce under the microscope   |26 September 2023

The Ministry of Health has, over the past two weeks, conducted a series of workshops dedicated to better understanding the country's health landscape.

During the first week, participants reviewed and analysed data collected in March 2023 for a

WISN study.

WISN, or Workload Indicators of Staffing Need, is a management tool that helps make staffing decisions and manage human resources efficiently. It is based on evaluating a health worker's workload and applying time standards for each workload component. Once completed, this study will enable the ministry to better understand the workload of healthcare workers at each facility, determine the numbers required to handle the actual workload and thus estimate the staffing needed to provide expected services at the facility.

The study will also allow a comparison of staffing levels between different facilities.

This past week, participants from key partner MDAs were introduced to the National Health

Workforce Accounts (NHWA) and the web platform that stores data, tracks indicators and

facilitates data sharing and reporting.

Participants also received training received training in data collection.

NHWA is a system aimed at enhancing the collection and utilisation of health workforce data to improve its availability and quality. It employs a labour market analysis framework to monitor key indicators, offering a comprehensive view of the country's health workforce dynamics. This framework covers various sectors, including health worker density, education, finance, and migration.

At the end of the workshop, the Ministry of Health and WHO developed a joint roadmap towards creating a responsive strategy for training, recruitment, equitable deployment, retention, and utilisation of healthcare personnel.

The accompanying photos show some highlights of the workshop.

Press release from the Ministry of Health