PARTY LEADERSHIP IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTH HUMAN RESOURCES (2005 - 2015): STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Abstract

Health human resources are a key factor for improving the quality of healthcare and play an important role in protecting and caring for the health of the people. Developing human resources in health is a major and consistent policy of the Party in the mission of building and perfecting the healthcare system in Vietnam. During the period 2005 - 2015, the Party and the State implemented many comprehensive and synchronous policies and solutions to enhance the quality of health human resources. Using historical and logical methods, combined with synthesis, statistical, and comparative approaches, this article clarifies the Party’s policies and guidance on developing health human resources from 2005 to 2015. As a result, awareness of the role of health human resources has increased, the health workforce has grown both in quantity and quality, and policies on recruitment, utilization, and incentives have been improved. However, the structure and distribution of the health workforce remain unbalanced across regions, localities, and healthcare levels. From these results and limitations, the article draws some lessons for developing health human resources.