Ghana: Implementing a national human resources for health plan-country case study

Overview

Ghana has recognised the need to address its serious health workforce shortage, and consequent issues with health service delivery. A new human resources strategic plan has been developed to guide scale-up from 2007 to 2011. This fits into the broader health sector plan, which prioritises general health system development, promotion of healthy lifestyles and environment, improving healthy reproduction and nutrition services and governance and financing . It is also consistent with the President’s vision to bring the country to middle-income status by 2015 – a goal that requires a healthy population. A review of the 2004 programme of work in the health sector found that failure to achieve improved health outcomes was often tied to issues of poor morale and distribution of the health workforce. After an in-country health workforce forum in 2005, the Ministry of Health carried out a needs assessment, which underpins the current plan.