Training Health Care Workers

Addressing the Health Worker Crisis

Skilled health workers are the backbone of strong health systems.

Our ability to improve access to care and achieve universal health coverage depends on the existence and expertise of the health workforce. Yet at least 55 countries don’t have the number of doctors, nurses, and other health workers needed to deliver quality health services.

Around the world, shortages have only been compounded by COVID-19.

Training health workers has always been at the heart of our mission at Project HOPE. Every day, we train local health workers to save lives — in the aftermath of disaster and crisis and in delivery rooms and remote villages across the globe.

A Critical Shortage

The world needs 15 million more health care workers.

The health worker crisis has been at the center of global health discussions for decades. Ongoing shortages — many in the most desperate situations — leave millions of people without the medical attention they need to survive, whether struggling in the face of sudden disaster or disease, or from entirely preventable and treatable circumstances.

The current estimates don’t consider the grave impact of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated shortfalls, as high rates of burnout continue to drive more and more health workers away from their work.

All countries experience health worker shortages to some degree, but there are significant disparities. The unequal and inequitable distribution of health workers is most apparent in Africa, where there are about 1.5 health workers for every 1,000 people. It is estimated the region will be short 6.1 million health workers by 2030 — a 45% increase from the last estimate in 2013.

How Project HOPE Supports Health Care Workers

We believe health care workers are the key to solving today’s most pressing health challenges.

For 65 years, Project HOPE has been committed to connecting health workers with the knowledge, tools, and support they need to deliver expert care and save lives. We’re building a strong and resilient global network of health workers who practice innovative solutions and feel empowered to share what they learn with other health workers in their communities.

Our support is always tailored to the unique health challenges facing the countries and communities where we work. We work with local partners and within existing health systems to ensure local health workers have the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to care for the specific needs of their patients, prevent the spread of disease, and preserve their own health.

Protecting Mothers and Children

There is a direct link between the number of health workers and the survival of women during childbirth and children in the early years. This means that as the number of health workers declines, so do the chances of survival for women and infants.

Project HOPE equips nurses and midwives with the skills and techniques they need to provide routine essential and emergency care for mothers and their newborns. In Colombia, we’re supporting health workers in meeting the urgent prenatal care needs of Venezuelan refugees and migrants at the border. In the Dominican Republic, we’re mentoring health workers inside neonatal intensive care units to reduce mortality rates and save newborn lives. In Indonesia, we’re training midwives to protect women’s health as they stand in the gap between rural communities and formal care, and in Sierra Leone, we’re launching the country’s first undergraduate and graduate programs in neonatal nursing and pediatrics.

Combatting Infectious and Noncommunicable Diseases

Building the capacity of health workers at both national and community levels is the most critical element in strengthening countries’ abilities to tackle infectious diseases like COVID-19, HIV, and TB.

In high-risk regions, we train health workers to provide screening, treatment, and care, leveraging evidence-based education models and harnessing the power of innovative online learning tools. In Namibia and Nigeria, we’re supporting community health workers in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on vulnerable children and their caregivers. In Namibia and Zambia, we’re supporting health workers in their ability to detect and treat TB.

We are also increasing the capacity of health professionals to better detect, prevent, manage, and treat noncommunicable diseases, which are responsible for nearly three-quarters of all premature deaths each year.

Responding to Disasters and Health Crises

When natural disasters strike and humanitarian crises unfold, we show up where the need is greatest and stay for the long term to train health workers and address mental health needs, knowing the health workforce plays a vital role in building resilience. In the midst of outbreaks and global health crises, we train first responders to be able to act quickly and provide quality care while protecting their own health and well-being.

As war rages on in Ukraine, our teams are supporting frontline health workers by delivering emergency medicine and medical supplies, providing surge support, and rebuilding hospitals that have been damaged or destroyed by attacks. We’re also training frontline health workers on a wide variety of skills ranging from trauma care and mental health to basic life support and prenatal nutrition. These trainings have reached thousands of medical personnel, enabling access to higher quality care for vulnerable communities across Ukraine.

As conflict and drought persist in northern Ethiopia, our teams are helping local health workers reach vulnerable and internally displaced populations with mobile health and nutrition services. We’re also assisting relief efforts through the delivery of essential medicines and medical supplies.

In Türkiye, we are providing emergency housing for health workers displaced by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, ensuring their safety and ability to continue providing lifesaving health services to their communities. We’re also providing direct medical support and delivering supplies, including incubators and hygiene kits.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Project HOPE trained more than 151,000 health workers and frontline personnel across the globe. At the onset of the crisis, in partnership with the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies at the Watson Institute of Brown University, we developed a COVID-19 preparedness and response curriculum to support the rapid scale-up of response efforts in high-risk countries. The curriculum was delivered through a live, virtual platform and designed utilizing a training-of-trainers approach.

To increase access to the curriculum, we partnered with DisasterReady to convert the content into a free eLearning curriculum that includes all the same modules and information for people to view on their own devices.

To improve access to COVID-19 vaccines, we trained health workers on vaccine science and protocols in free and charitable clinics across five states in the U.S. Training included infection prevention and control and risk communication and community engagement. Funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), this work helped thousands of people in underserved communities access the vaccine, including refugees, migrants, and undocumented persons.

Building Mental Health and Resilience

Mental health is one of the most neglected and overlooked areas of global health, and burnout has become one of the leading causes of the global exodus from the health workforce. In the U.S., 1 in 5 health workers has left their job since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more than half of all health workers report feeling the mental health effects of the crisis.

Around the world, Project HOPE is ensuring health workers have the support they need to protect their own health and well-being so they can continue providing care for others.

At the height of the pandemic, we started implementing mental health and resiliency trainings to help reduce stigma and normalize mental health support in and among health care professionals. Originally piloted in the Dominican Republic and Indonesia with support from the Abbott Fund, the training has expanded across five continents and reached some of the world’s most vulnerable countries and communities, thanks to generous support from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and the Medtronic Foundation.

Training modules are adapted to local contexts and based on the Healing, Education, Resilience & Opportunity for New York’s Frontline Workers (HERO-NY) program, a train-the-trainer series developed by New York City Health + Hospitals in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Impact That Lasts

We were founded to help health workers save lives.

Every day, we empower health workers to build resilient communities and a healthier, more equitable world. We support midwives in Indonesia, maternal wards in North Macedonia, frontline doctors and surgeons in Ukraine, and thousands of other expert and aspiring health professionals around the world.

From 2020 to 2022, we trained more than 285,000 health workers with the skills needed to treat their communities, respond in times of emergency, and save lives. This includes doctors on the Colombia-Venezuela border, nurses in Sierra Leone, and thousands of other frontline workers worldwide.

In response to COVID-19, we have trained more than 151,000 health workers and frontline personnel through the Brown University/Project HOPE training, and reached more than 88,000 health workers through the mental health and resiliency training program.