Lessons Learned and Recommendations
- Supporting national HRH leaders to develop evidence-based HRH policies and plans ensures that there is an overarching strategic framework and long-term perspective for addressing health workforce challenges and strengthening the HRM system for better performance and access to family planning, HIV/AIDS, and other health services.
- Equipping HR managers at all levels with the skills and competencies to implement HRH policies and plans results in better linkages and integration between strategy/policy and HRM practice.
- Capacity development interventions that are designed in collaboration with learners and that utilize contextualized materials and resources provide HR leaders and managers with skills and knowledge that are relevant and applicable to the HRM issues and challenges they face.
- The positioning and credibility of the HR function within the public health sector is critical for the development of contextually appropriate HRH policies and practices and achieving health sector goals; more advocacy is needed in this area to increase recognition of HRM as an essential building block in developing a quality health system.
- Encouraging stakeholders to adopt and support strategic, long-term perspectives on health workforce strengthening—which go beyond the development of policies and plans to their resourcing, financing, and implementation—is especially difficult when there are frequent leadership changes, turnover of key staff, and loss of institutional memory.
- More research is needed to measure the impact of HRH leadership and HRM system strengthening interventions on quality and use of service delivery and ultimately health outcomes. Results of positive effects can then be used to make a strong case for further investment in leadership and HRM system strengthening.
- HRH stakeholder leadership groups need to be held accountable for development, implementation, and monitoring of HRH initiatives. The methods by which these groups can measure their progress need to be strengthened to allow them to make ongoing changes based on performance data, and to sustain a firm commitment to producing useful results that all stakeholders can see.