The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa has launched the first-ever Africa Prototype Competency-Based Curricula for ten priority health professions, marking a major shift in the training and preparation of the region’s health workforce. The launch, held in Pretoria with satellite events in multiple countries, moves away from theory-heavy training toward competency-based education that ensures graduates are ready to deliver safe, high-quality, people-centred care from day one.
The curricula were developed through a collaborative effort involving over 300 experts, universities, professional councils, ministries, students, and development partners, guided by the Curriculum Development Advisory Group. Drawing on the Global Competency and Outcomes Framework for Universal Health Coverage (2022), the prototypes set a continental benchmark for quality and relevance and provide a common starting point for modernizing national programmes for nurses, midwives, pharmacists, dentists, laboratory scientists, and other key professions.
Africa’s health workforce has expanded from 1.6 million in 2013 to over 5 million in 2022, yet the continent still faces a projected shortage of 6.1 million health workers by 2030. At the same time, 27% of trained health workers remain unemployed, highlighting a gap between outdated training models and evolving labour market needs. The new curricula focus on practical skills, clinical readiness, ethical and professional judgment, emergency and primary care capabilities, adaptability to new technologies including AI, and the confidence to deliver quality care in diverse settings.
A core objective is to ensure that health workers trained in any African country graduate with comparable competencies, facilitating mobility, reducing the need for re-examination, and strengthening the integration of Africa’s health labour market. The launch coincides with the Member States Consultation on the Africa Health Workforce Agenda 2026–2035, aimed at defining strategies to create jobs, reform education, and improve retention across the continent.
WHO encourages countries, universities, regulators, and professional associations to adapt the prototype curricula to their national contexts. Future steps include supporting implementation, developing continental accreditation standards, strengthening regulation to ensure consistent training quality, promoting mutual recognition of qualifications, and advancing a more integrated African health labour market. The initiative is intended to anchor a new era of quality, trust, and excellence in Africa’s health workforce.
