In December 2012, IntraHealth International and the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) will begin jointly coordinating the secretariat of the Health Workforce Advocacy Initiative (HWAI).

Through this new partnership, AMREF and IntraHealth will work to expand and strengthen advocacy for human resources for health (HRH) in Africa—and worldwide—through the members and networks of the World Health Organization’s Global Health Workforce Alliance.

The new secretariat will support HWAI’s four major goals: to secure commitments from organizations across the globe to make HRH a priority, to build greater accountability among all HRH stakeholders, to secure sustainable funding for HRH, and to aid grassroots movements for improving HRH.

HWAI believes that all people around the world should have access to skilled, motivated health workers who are part of well-functioning health systems, and HWAI promotes evidence-based advocacy—that is, appealing for change by incorporating the best available evidence and data. To make these issues a priority at the country, regional, and international levels, HWAI has developed advocacy toolkits and training programs for health professionals and helped improve the way the Global Fund contributes to strengthening health systems.

AMREF and IntraHealth will build on the work of Dutch non-profit Wemos, which has served as HWAI’s secretariat since early 2011.