African Health Ministers Adopt Plan to Add 3 Million Workers by 2035

African health ministers have endorsed the Africa Health Workforce Agenda 2026–2035, committing countries to plan, educate, employ and retain 3 million additional health workers by 2035. The regional workforce reached an estimated 5.72 million in 2024, but WHO says Africa has only about 46% of the workforce it needs and could face a shortage above 6 million by 2035. Around 1 million trained professionals are unemployed, while many newly qualified nurses, doctors and midwives cannot secure work. The agenda calls for costed national investment plans, expanded competency-based education, improved working conditions, priority for underserved areas and stronger workforce data systems.