04/06/2025
PRESS STATEMENT ON SEVERE SHORTAGE OF HEALTH WORKERS IN ZAMBIA
The Clinical Officers’ Association of Zambia (COAZ) is deeply concerned about the ongoing severe shortage of healthcare workers across the country – including clinical Officers, doctors, nurses, anesthetists, and other essential staff.
Despite Annual recruitments, the current health workforce is far below the needs of the population. Government policies such as decentralization and the expansion of maternity annexes and services have increased the workload with increasing staff. Health workers are overstretched, and volunteers are now covering critical gaps. This is unsustainable.
Specialist health workers – including but not limited to anesthetists, mental health professionals, and surgeons – continue to provide advanced services while holding non-specialist and lower positions. This exploitation is unacceptable and must be corrected without fail.
COAZ has submitted multiple recommendations to the Ministry of Health, including but not limited to:
1. Restructuring of the human resource for health to reflect the actual service delivery needs.
2. Revising outdated health policies to align with the decentralization agenda and Health needs.
3. To fund and plan for the health sector based on data and not assumptions – determine and recruit the actual number of health workers needed to deliver health care services.
Our members work 24/7, especially in rural areas, and are the backbone of primary health care where over 80% of Zambians receive care. In most hospitals, professionals like Anesthetists cannot rest due to staff shortages. This must change with immediate effect.
Instead of intimidating professional association leaders, the Ministry of Health should engage in genuine dialogue and act on submitted policy recommendations without excuses.
COAZ, comprising of the largest number of Clinical care providers in Zambia, remains committed to defending the interests of its members and those that affect the lives of the Zambian people.
Jones Neba
President
Public Health Specialist
