African health unions unite to address continent-wide challenges

UNI Care unions from various African countries recently convened in Accra, Ghana, for their inaugural regional meeting. Health and care union leaders from Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, and Zimbabwe gathered to formulate a unified strategy addressing the challenges faced by tens of thousands of workers they represent.

The urgency for strong union representation has grown due to several factors affecting health and care workers across Africa. These include an aging population with rising chronic diseases, ongoing privatization of public health systems, rapid technological integration in healthcare, a critical shortage of staff to meet increasing demands, and emigration exacerbating these shortages.

During the meeting, unions focused on strategies to enhance organizing power and ensure that health and care workers have a central role in policy dialogues and decision-making processes. Keith Jacobs, Regional Secretary of UNI Africa, stated: “This meeting is an important step in organizing and amplifying the voices of those on the front lines of healthcare across Africa. Although we come from different countries and communities, many of our problems, like the staffing crisis, are the same. Care workers are vital to keeping our communities healthy, and their voices are essential to fixing the problems in care. By coming together in UNI Care, we can better coordinate and advocate in our region.”