National Pharmaceutical Human Resources Strategic Framework 2013–2017

The framework aims to strengthen the pharmaceutical system in Afghanistan by addressing priority human resource issues. Pharmaceutical human resources are a fundamental aspect of the pharmaceutical system, necessary to ensure access to and rational use of medicines. The framework identifies key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Public Health, the public and private sectors, training institutions, professional associations, donors, implementing partners, and nongovernmental organizations. These stakeholders participated in a consultative workshop to define strategic objectives and identify strategies, opportunities, and barriers to implementation. The framework outlines strategic objectives, strategies, and inputs, opportunities and barriers to implementation, and stakeholders relating to each objective. These elements are grouped under the themes of HR planning, management, and development. The framework seeks to outline a national strategy for the development of pharmaceutical human resources in the public and private sectors in Afghanistan to produce a stronger pharmaceutical system that responds to the population's needs. The framework sets out to strengthen the pharmaceutical human resources information system to cover both private and public sectors in the Ministry of Public Health by the end of 2014. This objective is necessary due to incomplete pharmaceutical human resources information, fragmented across different databases in the Ministry of Public Health's General Directorate of Pharmaceutical Affairs and General Directorate of Human Resources. Strategies to achieve this objective include developing a comprehensive pharmaceutical human resources information system, conducting regular assessments of pharmaceutical human resources, and establishing a database to track pharmaceutical human resources. The framework also aims to improve the distribution of pharmaceutical human resources, advocate for the improvement of salaries for pharmacists and pharmacy assistants, establish a pharmaceutical council to regulate pharmacists and pharmacy assistants, and build the capacity and competencies of pharmaceutical human resources in priority areas. The success of efforts to strengthen the pharmaceutical system in Afghanistan will depend on the effective implementation of strategies to strengthen pharmaceutical human resources. The Ministry of Public Health greatly appreciates the input of all key stakeholders in the process of developing and reaching consensus on this framework and affirms its commitment to collaborate with stakeholders to implement strategies to strengthen pharmaceutical human resources planning, management, and development. The framework will serve as a reference document for the revised Human Resources for Health plan and the HR section of the National Medicines Policy of the Ministry of Public Health. The framework was developed through a consultative process involving over 40 representatives of the Ministry of Public Health, the public and private sectors, training institutions, professional associations, donors, implementing partners, and nongovernmental organizations. The framework was further developed and refined through a consultative process between April and May 2012, during which 38 different stakeholder groups were invited to provide comments on the strategic framework. Key stakeholders reached full consensus on the strategic framework on July 2, 2012, in a meeting held by the Ministry of Public Health. The Pharmaceutical Human Resources Core Team reviewed feedback and used it to make final revisions. The framework describes the strategic objectives, strategies and inputs, opportunities and barriers to implementation, and stakeholders relating to each objective. These elements are grouped under the themes of HR planning, management, and development. The framework sets out the direction but does not specify the details regarding implementation or monitoring and evaluation.