Communications Development Incorporated announces publication of Human Resources for Health: Overcoming the Crisis

Fall 2004
Communications Development announces publication of Human Resources for Health: Overcoming the Crisis for the Joint Learning Initiative, a multistakeholder initiative to develop strategies to tackle the crisis in human resources for health in the developing world.

The importance of the workforce in the health system performance is widely recognized, but human resources get little attention. Health workers are critical to health development yet the skills, drive, and support systems of this workforce are grossly neglected. For example, Africa, which has 600,000 nurses and doctors, needs a million more.

The findings of the book were mentioned in an article on the front page of the November 23, 2004 issue of The New York Times ("Lacking Doctors, Africa Is Training Substitutes" by Celia W. Dugger). In the article Lincoln Chen, co-chair of the Joint Learning Initiative's Coordination working group and director of the Global Equity Center at Harvard University, offers the book's key message on precious health workers: "There's no way for these countries to succeed with traditional doctors and nurses. Paraprofessional systems will have to be built throughout the continent to address this health crisis."

Communications Development coordinated the editing, design, layout, and print management for this report, available online at http://www.globalhealthtrust.org or from Harvard University Press.