Harnessing Capacity in Southern Africa to Support and Develop Human Resources for Nursing and Midwifery in Africa – Part 2: Case Studies from the DRC and Mozambique

Abstract

Human resources for health has been the centre of attention for many decades as more African countries fail to meet health targets even though there is no shortage of country-specific policies and strategies to improve these resources. The WHO Africa region has a critical shortage of nurses and midwives, which will remain unresolved as long as funding and policy implementation challenges persist. In the interim, the profession itself must find innovative and collaborative ways to make inroads into the nursing shortages – specifically in areas where advanced clinical skills are needed. Harnessing capacity from within universities in southern Africa is posited as one of the ways to bolster the education of nurses and midwives. Presented in part 1, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development project aimed to increase the number and enhance the quality of postgraduate education and clinical training of nurses and midwives to improve the quality of healthcare services with particular reference to the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality rates. In fulfilling this aim, clinical master’s programmes were developed and implemented in seven African countries. In this article, we chose illustrative case studies to describe the master’s programme design and roll-out, in line with the health profile of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Mozambique. We explain the programme electives, enrolments and throughput, including outputs and outcomes. From experiences gained and lessons learnt, we extrapolate implications for future cases that employ pan-African and south-to-south university partnerships.