A National Conference on Human Resources for Health (HRH) is set to take place in Dar es Salaam from September 3 to 5, this year.
The first-ever meeting to be held in Tanzania aims at sustaining the profile of HRH on the national agenda and mobilise greater investment in resolving the country’s HRH crisis.
In light of major investments in information technology and management research and practice, the conference will provide an opportunity to update the status of the problem; to take stock of where the country stands in regard to the infusion of financial resources, multiplicity of programmes and variety of research initiatives.
The three-day conference will highlight four thematic areas of discussion critical to mitigating the HRH crisis in Tanzania which are: Planning and recruitment; production; retention; performance management and productivity.
Most critically, out of the technical sessions, the conference will come up with proposals and advocacy for national commitments by the government and partners to alleviate the HRH crisis.
It will be another mechanism to assess progress by the government and donor partners to achieve goals and priorities outlined in the 2008-3013 National HRH Strategic Plan and subsequent agreements.
The forum will also provide an avenue for inputs into the current process of developing the next National HRH Strategic Plan (2014-2019) and operationalisation of the public service Pay and Incentive Policy of 2011 On the other hand, leaders of district councils from various regions will be invited to share their experiences in putting policy into action, improving HR management practices and motivating their staff; they will also learn from each other and inspire others.
Over 200 participants and speakers representing national, regional and local government, regulatory bodies and professional associations, faith-based organisations (FBO’s) and private organisations, civil society organisations, international NGOs and donors will participate.
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in close collaboration with the Prime Minister’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government) and the President’s Office (Public Service Management) and with the support of the partners under the leadership of Benjamin W. Mkapa HIV/AIDS Foundation and Intra Health International, will host the conference.
The meeting has been funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), CIDA, World Health Organisation (WHO), German government through GIZ, Touch Foundation, National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and Bank M.
By OCHIENG OGWENO, Tanzania Daily News
