Health GAP (Global Access Project)
www.healthgap.org

For Immediate Release: June 30, 2005
Contact:
Sharonann Lynch - 646.645.5225

1 Million New Health Workers Needed for Africa

Ahead of the G8 Summit United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for efforts to build affordable and efficient health systems in the developing world, particularly in Africa, which will require 1 million new health workers to meet internationally agreed meet the Millennium Development Goals for the 21st century.

According tUN Special Envoy on Human Resources for Health, Lincoln Chen, doubling the health workforce in sub-Saharan Africa will require additional resources estimated at US$2 billion in 2006, rising to US$7.7 billion annually by 2010. Attached is a costing memo with this and other information including the breakdown of financing needed and Chen's emphasis on employing and training corps of community based health care workers. The costing memo is based on doubling the current number of healthcare workers- of all skill mix including physicians, nurses, midwives, community health workers, etc.

"A lack of trained health care workers-including doctors, nurses, and community health workers-in poor countries is crippling HIV/AIDS treatment scale up efforts as well as other health goals. Donor countries must come to the G8 Summit with billions in new money to fund training, recruitment and retention of health care workers in poor countries," said Sharonann Lynch, Director of International Policy for Health GAP (Global Access Project) a US-based AIDS activist group.

Continued Lynch, "Without an investment of at least $2 billion in new funding now, rising to $7.7 billion annually by 2010 to double the healthcare workforce in sub-Saharn Africa, universal HIV/AIDS treatment access as well as the Millennium Development Goals will be impossible to achieve."

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