Wednesday 22nd of April 11:00-13:00 (GMT+1) via Zoom
To register for the seminar, please use this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aaRa0QQWTEybhbdXmsrTMA
Introduction
Health workers form the backbone of health systems. Yet in many low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries, chronic underinvestment in the health workforce continues to undermine health systems strengthening efforts and progress toward universal health coverage (UHC). The African and Eastern Mediterranean regions bear the greatest burden of the global health workforce
shortage, projected to be over 11 million workers by 2030, despite growing youth populations and often high rates of unemployment.
While financing health and care workers accounts for the largest share – 50-70% of recurrent costs – of health expenditures, health systems cannot function without trained, educated, motivated and competent health workers. Failure to allocate resources for well-distributed interdisciplinary health workforce teams in adequate quantities weakens service delivery, compromises care and widens inequalities.
This seminar, aligned with the second Africa Health Workforce Investment Forum, focuses on how countries can move from aspirational human resources for health strategies to financially credible, politically viable workforce strategies that can be
funded, implemented, and sustained over time. This session will provide a platform for sharing international perspectives, focusing
on innovative and evidence-based health system funding models, stewardship and governance, and analytical approaches.
Meet Our Chair
Dr. Ogochukwu Chukwujekwu, Team Lead for Health Financing and Governance at the WHO Regional Office for Africa
Dr. Ogochukwu is a public health leader with nearly two decades of experience strengthening health systems and advancing health financing and governance at both national and international levels. Currently serving as Team Lead for Health Financing and Governance at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, her career has spanned key technical and leadership roles within WHO and the international NGO sector, and she has provided health policy support across diverse countries in Africa and the Western Pacific.
Originally trained as a medical doctor, Dr Chukwujekwu holds an MSc in Public Health, specialising in Health Economics, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her professional expertise spans health systems governance, financing, primary health care reforms, health services management, and monitoring and evaluation of public health programmes.
Meet our Speakers
Alex de Jonquieres, Director of Health Systems and Immunisation Strengthening (HSIS) at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Alex has been leading Gavi’s HSIS department since 2018, overseeing strategies for strengthening health systems to make immunisation programmes more equitable and sustainable. He also co-lead Gavi’s COVID-19 response to maintain, restore and strengthen routine immunisation and plan and support equitable delivery of COVID-19 vaccines.
Mr. de Jonquieres joined Gavi in 2013 as Chief of Staff, a position he held until his current role. Previous to joining Gavi, he worked as an Associate Principal for Mckinsey & Co. He holds an MSc in Forced Migration and a B.A. in Philosophy & Economics, both from the University of Oxford.
Dr Elizabeth Igaga, Senior Director of Program Safety at Smile Train
Dr Elizabeth is an anaesthesiologist and patient safety professional with almost a decade of
experience. She currently serves as the Senior Director of Program Safety at Smile Train, where
she works to ensure a safe perioperative experience for 100,000+ patients with cleft lip and palate
globally.
Paul Healy and James Smith
Paul Healy is Deputy Director of Productivity at NHS England, leading on estimating NHS productivity and benchmarking trust performance. Prior to this, he led on financial aspects of NHS pay, pensions and workforce policy, on the financial aspects of establishing Integrated Care Boards and the setting of inflation and efficiency targets in NHS pricing. Paul is a health economist by background and previously headed up the NHS Confederation’s policy team, as well as advising on economics and regulation for several UK and European thinks tanks.
James Smith is a Senior Lead for Financial Strategy at NHS England, supporting the financial planning process for NHS bodies. The primary focus of his work is to ensure that NHS financial allocations, provider payment and the wider policy framework support organisations to deliver their financial and broader transformation objectives. Before this, James supported the integrated care system (ICS) programme, with a particular focus on governance, finance and planning.