title: Health labour market policies in support of universal health coverage: a comprehensive analysis in four African countries.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Progress toward universal health coverage in many low- and middle-income countries is hindered by the lack of an adequate health workforce that can deliver quality services accessible to the entire population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a health labour market framework to investigate the key indicators of the dynamics of the health labour market in Cameroon, Kenya, Sudan, and Zambia, and identified the main policies implemented in these countries in the past ten years to address shortages and maldistribution of health workers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Despite increased availability of health workers in the four countries, major shortages and maldistribution persist. Several factors aggravate these problems, including migration, an aging workforce, and imbalances in skill mix composition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this paper, we provide new evidence to inform decision-making for health workforce planning and analysis in low- and middle-income countries. Partial health workforce policies are not sufficient to address these issues. It is crucial to perform a comprehensive analysis in order to understand the dynamics of the health labour market and develop effective polices to address health workforce shortages and maldistribution as part of efforts to attain universal health coverage.
authors.affiliation: Human Resources for Health, Department of Health Systems Policies and Workforce, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. sousaa@who.int.
authors.forename: Angelica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Scheffler
authors.forename: Grayson
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koyi
authors.forename: Symplice Ngah
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Ngah
authors.forename: Ayat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abu-Agla
authors.forename: Harrison M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: M'kiambati
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nyoni
mesh_terms: D002163:Cameroon; D003906:Developing Countries; D006282:Health Personnel; D006285:Health Planning; D006291:Health Policy; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007630:Kenya; D013397:Sudan; D019472:Universal Health Insurance; D015024:Zambia