Africa could face a shortage of 5.85 million health workers by 2030, while nearly one million trained professionals remain unemployed or underemployed. WHO and Africa CDC are now urging countries to move beyond training and invest in funded jobs, better workforce planning and retention.
A growing gapAfrica’s health workforce has grown from about 4.3 million workers in 2018 to an estimated 5.72 million in 2024. Yet this increase covers only around 46% of the continent’s estimated needs. Without faster action, the shortage could reach 5.85 million workers by 2030.The figures reveal a striking contradiction.
In 2024, around 943,000 trained health workers were unemployed, while others were underemployed. At the same time, health facilities across the continent continue to face shortages of qualified staff.The problem is therefore not simply a lack of training. It is also a question of whether health systems can create and finance enough positions to absorb the professionals they produce.
Training is not enoughAfrica currently produces more than 325,000 health worker graduates every year. But training does not automatically translate into employment. Weak workforce planning, limited public financing and uneven distribution of professionals continue to undermine health systems.Retention is another challenge.
Nearly 46% of health workers report an intention to migrate, with working conditions and limited career opportunities among the factors influencing their decisions. Losing trained professionals can further widen staffing gaps in countries already struggling to provide essential services.African health ministers have therefore adopted the Africa Health Workforce Agenda 2026–2035, which aims to support countries in planning, training, employing and retaining an additional three million health workers by 2035.
Turning commitments into jobsThe financing issue took center stage on 10 September, when WHO and Africa CDC brought together 71 health workforce directors and experts from 37 African countries for training on budget negotiations.The initiative seeks to strengthen countries’ ability to turn workforce plans into concrete budget proposals and secure funding for health worker positions. The objective is to ensure that political commitments translate into actual jobs within national health systems.
WHO estimates that at least a 35% increase in public investment in health workforce employment would be needed to address the mismatch between health worker production and employment.For Africa, closing the workforce gap will therefore require more than training more professionals. Countries will need to finance jobs, improve working conditions and retain skilled workers where they are most needed
