Africa is grappling with a significant shortage of health workers, with a staggering 5.5 million gap in the workforce. This shortage is compounded by the fact that nearly one million trained health professionals across the continent are without meaningful employment. These figures were highlighted at the recent Ubuntu Rising 2026 meeting in Cape Town, which brought together over 80 young health professionals, researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and higher education representatives.
The Ubuntu Rising 2026 meeting, convened by the Africa Health Collaborative and hosted by the University of Cape Town, aimed to develop recommendations on the future of health systems in Africa. The meeting produced nine key recommendations that focus on leadership, innovation, and employment. One of the primary suggestions is to establish stronger links between young people and health policy, providing greater opportunities for youth to influence decision-making processes.
The health workforce gap in Africa is part of a broader challenge facing young Africans entering the labor market. According to the Mastercard Foundation's Africa Youth Employment Outlook 2026, 90% of employed young Africans work in the informal economy, while only 10% of youth jobs are formal. Furthermore, 34% of employed young Africans live in households below the $2.15-a-day poverty line, and only 9% have completed tertiary education.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa's Health Workforce Reports 2024 and 2025 provide insight into the health workforce gap. University of Cape Town Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, Prof. Brandon Collier-Reed, emphasized that the challenge extends beyond creating jobs for young people and requires institutions to assess whether these jobs offer meaningful opportunities. He noted that employment, on its own, is not the ultimate goal, but rather whether the systems in place are working for young Africans.
To address the health workforce gap, participants at the Ubuntu Rising 2026 meeting proposed several measures. These include harmonizing curricula across Africa to make skills transferable and creating pathways into paid and dignified health workforce internships. Additionally, they suggested incorporating entrepreneurship and community needs into education and training programs, while connecting young innovators to existing expertise and innovation infrastructure.
The recommendations also focus on leadership and innovation, suggesting that young people should have a greater role in shaping the systems they will inherit. Dr. Nathina Pakade, a Public Health Medicine Registrar at the University of Cape Town and the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness, emphasized that young people need more than just invitations to participate; they require meaningful roles in decision-making processes. Pakade described the desired progression for young people as "enter, learn, contribute, progress, and lead."
The nine recommendations from the Ubuntu Rising 2026 meeting will inform the Africa Health Collaborative's Youth Agenda and future programs, partnerships, and engagement with the wider health sector. Prof. Tracey Naledi, Deputy Dean for Social Accountability and Health Systems at the University of Cape Town, argued that young people should have a greater role in shaping the systems they will inherit. The Africa Health Collaborative aims to work with young people, informed by young people, and increasingly led by young people, with supporting roles for established institutions.
Key points
- Africa faces a shortage of 5.5 million health workers and nearly one million trained health professionals are without meaningful employment.
- The health workforce gap is part of a broader challenge facing young Africans entering the labor market, with 90% of employed young Africans working in the informal economy.
- The recommendations from the Ubuntu Rising 2026 meeting aim to address the health workforce gap by establishing stronger links between young people and health policy, promoting innovation, and creating pathways into paid and dignified health employment.
