The African Union Health Workforce Task Team (HWTT) is the continental coordination and delivery mechanism established to advance Africa’s health workforce reform agenda and translate high-level political commitments into sustained, results-oriented action.
The HWTT was established pursuant to AU Assembly Decision 816 (XXXV), which mandated the creation of a presidentially anchored, multisectoral platform to address critical and persistent challenges in human resources for health (HRH) across the continent. The Task Team is designed to strengthen coordination, accountability, and implementation across Member States, Regional Economic Communities, and development partners.
Why the Health Workforce Task Team Matters
Africa is at a pivotal moment in its health and development trajectory. While working toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and strengthened pandemic preparedness, the continent continues to face a complex burden of disease, recurrent public health emergencies, and escalating climate-related health risks. At the same time, Africa’s population is projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, significantly increasing demand for quality, accessible health services.
Despite carrying more than 25% of the global disease burden, Africa faces a projected shortfall of over six million health professionals by 2030. This gap is driven by structural challenges across the health workforce lifecycle, including limited production capacity, inequitable distribution, low retention, unmanaged migration, constrained fiscal space for absorption, and weak alignment between education systems and health system needs.
Addressing these challenges requires coordinated continental action that goes beyond fragmented projects and isolated investments. The HWTT responds to this need by providing a shared platform to align policies, mobilize financing, strengthen accountability, and accelerate implementation at scale.
Mandate and Role of the HWTT
The HWTT serves as a continental delivery and coordination platform for health workforce development. Its mandate is to:
- Align and harmonize health workforce policies, standards, and investments across AU Member States
- Strengthen political leadership and accountability for HRH at the highest level
- Support countries through coordinated technical assistance and peer learning
- Mobilize and align domestic and external financing for sustainable workforce investments
- Track progress and results through robust data, monitoring, and reporting systems
Africa CDC serves as the Secretariat of the Task Team, providing technical and operational leadership and ensuring that the HWTT agenda is embedded within Africa CDC’s institutional reforms, governance architecture, and the broader Africa Health Security and Sovereignty (AHSS) agenda.
Thematic Workstreams
The work of the HWTT is operationalized through seven interlinked thematic workstreams, which function as the primary delivery engines of the Task Team:
- Governance and coordination
- Country technical assistance and implementation support
- Financing and investment alignment
- Retention, migration, and labour market dynamics
- Training, education, and harmonization of standards
- Data, monitoring, and accountability (including NHWA and HRIS)
- Research, innovation, and knowledge generation
Together, these workstreams support a shift from fragmented efforts toward a coherent, results-driven continental approach to health workforce development.
Foundational Continental Instruments
To anchor implementation, the HWTT is guided by three foundational continental instruments that define the evidence base, investment rationale, and accountability framework for Africa’s health workforce agenda:
- Continental Baseline Review – providing a comprehensive assessment of the current health workforce landscape, gaps, and system constraints across the continent
- Health Workforce Investment Case – articulating the economic, social, and health returns of investing in Africa’s health workforce and informing financing and resource mobilization efforts
- Africa Health Workforce Compact – establishing a shared framework for political commitment, mutual accountability, and coordinated action among Member States and partners
These documents collectively support evidence-informed decision-making and serve as reference points for countries, partners, and stakeholders engaged in health workforce reform.
Access the Documents
The foundational HWTT documents are available below for reference and use by Member States, partners, and stakeholders:
