The Human Resources for Health Crisis in Zambia: An Outcome of Health Worker Entry, Exit, and Performance within the National Health Labor Market

The Human Resources for Health Crisis in Zambia is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank’s ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion. Despite reporting some health gains since the 1990s, health outcomes remain poor in Zambia and it will be very challenging to achieve the health-related Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The Government of Zambia recognises that the improvement of child and maternal health and the reduction in mortality from HIV/AIDs and malaria require better access to an appropriate number of well performing health workers or human resources for health (HRH). This paper compiles recent evidence on the Zambian health labour market and provides some baseline information on HRH to support the government address its HRH challenges. In addition, the paper analyses the available evidence on the national health labour market to better understand the number, distribution, and performance of HRH in Zambia. The paper also explains HRH outcomes by mapping, assessing, and analysing pre-service education and labour market dynamics and well as the core factors influencing these dynamics.