Evaluation of Malawi's Emergency Human Resources Programme

Management Sciences for Health
professional HR managers with the ultimate goal of deploying at least one trained
manager to each Zonal and District office and each hospital.
4. In the short term, provide in-service orientation on effective HRM practices to all
health managers with current responsibility for human resources at all levels of the
health system.
5. In lieu of long term technical assistance in HR, consider the use of short term HR
consultants (regional or international) to assist HR staff in addressing specific issues,
such as the development of a hardship allowance.
6. Expedite the launch and the implementation of the HRH Strategic Plan, the National
Health Sector Deployment Policy and the HR Development Policy.
7. Review and standardise policy on Locums and HSAs to ensure equity and
effectiveness.
Element 5: HRMIS systems
Element 5 was intended to establish a robust M&E system for tracking human resources
in the health sector. Accurate and timely information on the numbers, cadres,
qualifications, deployment, transfer and attrition of health staff is essential to effectively
plan and manage the workforce. While this system was not rolled out as planned under
EHRP, it was supported through WHO consultants and the first phase has been created as
a standalone with the longer term goal of integration into HMIS.
Recommendations
1. Finalise implementation of the HRMIS system and train people who are responsible
for using it.
2. Strengthen the HRMIS system that has recently been put in place, ensuring that data
on age, gender, deployment, attrition, transfers, absenteeism, training, etc. are
collected and validated at regular intervals.
3. Integrate the system with the HMIS and monitor it for accuracy and timeliness.
4. Use the system to establish a baseline on which to more accurately measure the
progress of the next HR Programme of Work.
5. HMIS services offered at the community level by Health Surveillance Assistants
(HSAs) should be tracked in order to assess the contribution of this cadre.
Examining the EHRP in light of the HRH Action Framework: What was missing?
At the time the EHRP was designed, it was innovative in its intention to develop a
cohesive, multi-pronged strategy. No low-income country had yet committed itself to
such a broad-based, long term strategy. Since then, the global HR Community has
developed the HRH Action Framework which has now been accepted by the WHO, the
Global Health Workforce Alliance, and multiple stakeholders as the basis for designing
future HRH strategies. It is useful to look at the next five years of EHRP in light of the
HAF (Figure 26).
EHRP Evaluation Final Report Page 74