African countries have reached a unified agreement on the key priorities that will guide the Africa Health Workforce Agenda 2026–2035, marking a major milestone in efforts to transform how the continent plans for, trains and retains its health workers. During a regional consultation held in Pretoria from 24 to 26 November 2025, representatives from governments, professional bodies, academic institutions, development partners and technical experts aligned on the core elements that will shape the forthcoming strategy, which is expected to be formally endorsed in 2026.
The agreed priorities include strengthening governance, modernizing and expanding health workforce education, improving employment and retention conditions, increasing investments through the Africa Health Workforce Investment Charter, and establishing stronger labour-market intelligence systems. These areas reflect a shared commitment to addressing longstanding gaps that hinder the delivery of quality, people-centred health services across the continent. WHO officials emphasized that decisive action over the next decade is essential to prevent the widening of the region’s health workforce gap.
Africa continues to face an acute shortage of health workers, with a projected deficit of 6.1 million by 2030. Despite progress—tripling the workforce from 1.6 million in 2013 to 5.1 million in 2022—the region still struggles with mismatched training and labour-market needs, outdated education models, chronic underinvestment in training institutions, unemployment among new graduates and high levels of migration and attrition. Participants stressed the need for comprehensive reforms that align training, employment, financing and service-delivery goals.
The Pretoria consultation builds on earlier steps taken in 2025, including a WHO-led review of national workforce data and an expert assessment that identified priorities for the new agenda. These collaborative efforts aim to ensure that the 2026–2035 strategy is grounded in evidence and aligned with national and regional needs.
The Africa Health Workforce Agenda 2035 will be formally adopted and launched by Member States in 2026. WHO called for continued political commitment and sustained investment from governments, regional institutions, academia and development partners to ensure the successful implementation of the agenda. The consensus reached in Pretoria reflects a strengthened collective resolve to reshape the future of health workforce development across the continent.
