The Future Of Medical Work in Southern Africa : Case Study of the Future of Medical Work and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Work in South Africa
Major global trends such as economic integration, urbanization, climate change, demographic shifts, digital and technological advances, and rising consumerism will all affect population health and shape the future of medical work. In South Africa, these trends can be harnessed as op...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Discussion Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Washington, DC: World Bank
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099326404252241193/IDU08bf11d3007b2204a8308bb200de3f540d134 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37435 |
| Summary: | Major global trends such as economic integration, urbanization, climate change,
demographic shifts, digital and technological advances, and rising consumerism will all
affect population health and shape the future of medical work. In South Africa, these trends
can be harnessed as opportunities, but this will require the government to take a strategic
approach and to give its immediate attention to six health workforce issues: (i) the
mismatch between the number and the skills of health graduates produced by the health
education system and the number and specialties needed for future medical work; (ii) the
unsustainable financing system for expensive medical education; (iii) the large numbers
of foreign-trained medical graduates whose degrees are not being fully recognized in
South Africa; (iv) high vacancy rates in health facilities coinciding with high unemployment
and inadequate human resource management; (v) insufficient data on the health
workforce; and (vi) the public sector’s reluctance to collaborate with the private sector and
international health labor. With more large-scale disasters looming, South Africa’s
experience with the COVID-19 pandemic will provide important lessons for the future of
medical work. Based on the findings of this case study, we make recommendations on
health education policy and human resource policy. These include (i) investing in high-
quality education and aligning investments in health education and medical research with
future needs; (ii) looking for innovative ways to finance medical education; (iii) investing in
the health workforce on the basis of health workforce planning and future projections of
need; (iv) modernizing the human resource management in health facilities and facilitating
the use of modern technology; (v) making substantial investments in the collection and
analysis of data on the health workforce and using results in workforce planning; and (vi)
expanding public-private sector collaboration and developing policies to manage the
mobility of the health workforce to and from the private sector and abroad. |
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