Africa Backs Plan to Add 3 Million Health Workers by 2035

African health ministers have endorsed a continent-wide plan to add 3 million health workers by 2035, responding to a workforce shortage that continues to leave millions of people without reliable access to essential care. Adopted during the Seventy-sixth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, the Africa Health Workforce Agenda 2026–2035 sets out a shared approach for countries to plan their staffing needs, improve health education, create jobs and keep skilled professionals working in communities where demand is greatest.

Rather than concentrating mainly on producing more doctors, nurses, midwives and other professionals, the Agenda addresses a deeper problem across African health systems: many countries train health workers but lack the financing, workforce planning and employment structures needed to place them in health facilities. Africa had an estimated 5.72 million health workers in 2024, yet this represents only about 46% of the workforce the Region needs, and the shortage could exceed 6 million workers by 2035 if current gaps are not addressed.

Hospitals Face Shortages While Trained Professionals Remain Jobless

One of the most striking challenges is the disconnect between severe staffing shortages and unemployment among qualified professionals. An estimated one million trained health professionals across the Region are unemployed, while health facilities struggle to fill essential positions and communities face limited access to care. In several countries, more than half of newly qualified doctors, nurses and midwives cannot find employment soon after completing their training, showing that increasing graduate numbers alone cannot solve the workforce crisis.

The new Agenda calls for education systems to be more closely connected with real health service needs and employment opportunities, supported by sustainable financing that allows governments to turn trained professionals into active members of the workforce. Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said educating health workers must be accompanied by opportunities, support and working conditions that allow professionals to serve, develop their careers and remain in places where their skills are most needed.

A Workforce Strategy Built Around Planning, Jobs and Retention

Under the roadmap, countries are expected to strengthen workforce planning, expand access to quality education, create sustainable employment and improve retention, particularly in communities where shortages are most severe. Achieving this will require health ministries to work closely with education, finance, labour and public service authorities because decisions about training places, government budgets, salaries, recruitment and working conditions are often spread across several institutions.

Retention is equally important because producing skilled professionals has limited impact when health systems cannot keep them in service or distribute them fairly. Better working environments, professional development, supportive management and stronger employment structures can help countries build a motivated workforce while reducing persistent gaps between urban centres and underserved areas.

Health Workers Could Deliver Major Economic Returns

Investing enough to close Africa's health workforce gap is estimated to require an additional US$4 to US$6 per person each year, a relatively modest amount when measured against the potential health, economic and social benefits. Evidence cited alongside the Agenda suggests that every dollar invested in the health workforce can generate up to US$10 in economic returns and around 30 times its value in wider social benefits through healthier populations, higher productivity and stronger economies.

The Africa Health Workforce Agenda 2026–2035 builds on the Africa Health Workforce Investment Charter and turns previous commitments into a practical roadmap for the coming decade. Its impact will ultimately depend on whether countries can translate plans and investment pledges into funded positions, stronger workplaces and sustainable careers, allowing millions more people to receive quality health services from skilled professionals who are available when and where they are needed.