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| CapacityPlus | |
|---|---|
| Name | CapacityPlus |
| Formation | 2006 |
| Type | International health workforce program |
| Location | Global |
| Parent organization | IntraHealth International |
| Funders | United States Agency for International Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Focus | Health workforce strengthening |
CapacityPlus CapacityPlus was an international health workforce strengthening initiative focused on expanding the quantity, quality, and performance of health workers in low- and middle-income countries. Launched in the mid-2000s, it supported national strategies, digital tools, policy reform, and research to address shortages of physicians, nurses, midwives, community health workers, and allied health professionals. Its work intersected with global efforts led by major institutions to achieve population health goals, health systems resilience, and workforce planning.
CapacityPlus concentrated on human resources for health in settings with severe health worker shortages, linking workforce planning, education, financing, and management. It developed technical guidance, capacity-building materials, and software tools used by ministries and institutions such as the World Health Organization, United States Agency for International Development, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and national ministries of health in countries across Africa and Asia. Projects emphasized pre-service education reform involving universities and teaching hospitals like Makerere University, University of Nairobi, and University of Ghana Medical School as well as regulatory bodies such as nursing and midwifery councils.
The initiative emerged amid heightened global attention after landmark events and reports including the 2006 World Health Report, the Lancet workforce analyses, and the establishment of global health financing mechanisms like the Global Fund. In 2006, a consortium led by IntraHealth International formalized the program to respond to workforce recommendations from international commissions and donor strategies including those of the United States Agency for International Development and foundations. Over subsequent years it partnered with entities involved in workforce accreditation, such as the International Council of Nurses and regional training networks, while responding to crises like the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa that revealed systemic workforce vulnerabilities.
CapacityPlus implemented a portfolio of interventions spanning health workforce planning, education, performance optimization, and migration management. It promoted adoption of workforce analytics and HR information systems modeled on tools used by organizations such as the World Health Organization's Global Health Observatory and national human resources databases in countries like Rwanda and Kenya. Educational reforms involved collaborations with tertiary institutions including University of Ibadan and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to update curricula and clinical practice partnerships with hospitals like Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. The program supported continuing professional development, linked with councils such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, and helped steward workforce policies referenced by bodies like the African Union and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
CapacityPlus operated through partnerships among international NGOs, academic centers, professional associations, and bilateral donors. Lead partners included IntraHealth International, Partners In Health, academic collaborators such as Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and implementing partners from regional training hubs. Major funders comprised United States Agency for International Development and philanthropic actors including Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; coordination involved multilateral stakeholders like the World Bank and the World Health Organization. National ministries of health and finance, regulatory councils, and professional unions were essential domestic partners in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, and other countries.
CapacityPlus produced technical guidance, workforce assessments, and digital HR solutions adopted by ministries and institutions; independent evaluations cited improvements in workforce planning capacity, expanded pre-service training slots, and strengthened regulatory processes. Program outputs informed national strategic plans and were referenced in policy documents by the World Health Organization and the Global Health Workforce Alliance. Case studies documented workforce retention gains in rural districts comparable to interventions described in literature from Partners In Health and evaluated using methodologies aligned with standards from institutions such as Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and RAND Corporation. Monitoring and evaluation activities included mixed-methods assessments with collaborators from universities like Makerere University School of Public Health.
The program was structured as a consortium with a lead agency overseeing technical leads in workforce planning, education, regulation, and information systems. Governance involved advisory boards and steering committees with representation from donors such as USAID, academic partners including Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and professional associations like the International Confederation of Midwives. Country-level teams coordinated with national ministries and local partners, while global technical teams managed tool development and capacity-building modules.
Critiques of CapacityPlus mirrored broader debates on donor-funded health initiatives: sustainability of interventions after donor withdrawal, alignment with national priorities amid multiple external programs, and measurement of long-term workforce outcomes. Observers compared challenges to those faced by programs supported by entities such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, noting potential fragmentation when multiple donors support overlapping activities. Additionally, implementing workforce reforms encountered institutional constraints documented in analyses by OECD and academic studies in journals like the Lancet Global Health.
Category:Health workforce