PRESS RELEASE : £15 million funding to strengthen health workforce in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana [September 2023]

• £15 million from government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget allocated to support healthcare workforces in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana
• Funding will help upskill staff and improve health outcomes through improved administration, data collection, and training and retention opportunities
• Supporting a strong international health workforce better equips UK to tackle global health challenges

The UK will provide a multi-million pound boost to support healthcare staff recruitment and retention in 3 African countries – Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana – supporting resilience against global health challenges.

Fifteen million pounds from the ring-fenced Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget for 2022 to 2025 will be committed to optimise, build and strengthen the health workforce in the 3 African countries. Recognising the importance of the health workforce in lower and middle-income countries in improving health outcomes and achieving universal health coverage, the funding will give people in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana access to the full range of health services they need, when they need it.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for the UK to co-operate closely with international partners to tackle global health threats, which put considerable pressure on the NHS. The pandemic also resulted in workforce retention pressures around the world, while the demand for healthcare staff has increased. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates a shortage of 10 million health workers globally by 2030, which threatens achieving global universal health coverage and could worsen worldwide health inequalities.

Addressing critical workforce challenges is key to strengthening health systems and building global resilience against future pandemics so people across the world – including in the UK – can be protected.

Health Minister Will Quince said:

Highly skilled, resilient staff are the backbone of a strong health service, so I’m delighted we can support the training, recruitment and retention of skilled health workforces in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.

This funding aims to make a real difference in strengthening the performance of health systems in each of the participating countries, which will have a knock-on effect on boosting global pandemic preparedness and reducing health inequalities.

The pandemic showed us that patients in the UK are not safe unless the world as a whole is resilient against health threats, and this will help us in delivering on that ambition.

Six million pounds from the ODA funding pledge will support WHO to deliver health workforce planning and capacity-building work – such as improved administration systems, and training and retention opportunities – in collaboration with local governments and health system stakeholders.

As part of this package, the Department of Health and Social Care will also run a £9 million 2-year competitive grant scheme for a not-for-profit organisation to co-ordinate delivery of partnership work in participating countries.

The partnership programmes for the health workforce include linking UK institutions with local health systems, promoting skills exchanges, and improving the curriculum, regulation and guidance in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.

The delivery co-ordinator will be responsible for setting up, funding and overseeing this work to drive improvement in quality and retention of healthcare staff in the 3 countries, and ultimately help to ensure better outcomes for patients.

The funding builds on £5 million previously committed as part of the Building the Future International Workforce ODA programme in Ghana, Uganda and Somaliland, which aims to improve health workforce planning and management, provide training opportunities for refugees and displaced people, and link NHS institutions with country health institutions.

Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana were chosen for the ODA award as they showed a clear need for workforce support, evidenced by high population mortality rates and low staff numbers, as well as unemployment among their trained health workers.

Update 1 September 2023

As part of the £15 million Global Health Workforce Programme announced on 19 May 2023, the Department of Health and Social Care ran a £9 million 2-year competitive grant scheme for a not-for-profit organisation to co-ordinate delivery of partnership work in participating countries.

The partnership programmes for the health workforce include linking UK institutions with local health systems, promoting skills exchanges, and improving the curriculum, regulation and guidance in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.

The grant competition closed on 23 June 2023, and 3 applications were received and assessed. The Department of Health and Social Care is pleased to announce that the grant has been awarded to the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET).

The Tropical Health and Education Trust will be responsible for setting up, funding and overseeing this partnership work to drive improvement in quality and retention of healthcare staff in the 3 countries, and ultimately help to ensure better outcomes for patients.

About the Tropical Health and Education Trust

THET is a global health organisation with a vision of a world where everyone has access to healthcare. For 35 years, it has been working to achieve this by training and educating health workers in Africa and Asia in partnership with organisations and volunteers from across the UK.

Founded in 1988 by Professor Sir Eldryd Parry, it is the only UK charity with this focus. From reducing maternal deaths in Uganda to improving the quality of hospital care for injured children in Myanmar, they work to strengthen local health systems and build a healthier future for all. In the past 10 years alone, THET has reached over 100,000 health workers across 31 countries in Africa and Asia in partnership with over 130 UK institutions.

For more information, visit the THET website.