News

UNICARE affiliates from Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Nigeria, and Malawi gathered in Nairobi last week to share organising successes and challenges, and to strategise and makes plans for breaking through in this growing sector for the Africa region.

Some countries such as Nigeria will experience growth of 14% in their care and health sectors over the coming years, and consequently multinational companies are beginning to take much more interest in these 'emerging markets', especially via public private partnerships.

At the same time, care systems will be grappling with the brain drain that sees so many highly trained and skilled workers migrating to other regions of the world. Africa as a region is suffering from an overburdened healthcare system, staffing shortages, and currently has the lowest ratio of care and health spending per capita worldwide. However, with the spending boom underway, this ratio will begin to shift and the largest expansion in employment will be in the for-profit sector over the coming years. 

Unions therefore see it as vital to organise and build power in these critical areas of work, and took the opportunity at this lively meeting to collectively forumate plans to win for the future in the region.