The Director-General of the Civil Service Agency (CSA), Dr. Josiah F. Joekai Jr., in his capacity as Chairman of the Health and Public Service Network of Africa (HaPSNA), will convene the 3rd High-Level Continental Meeting on Strengthening Public Service and Health Workforce Development in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from June 1-2, 2026.
The upcoming gathering marks the 3rd continental high-level engagement chaired by Dr. Joekai following the inaugural meeting held in Monrovia in March 2025 and the 2nd Consultative Meeting hosted in Kigali, Rwanda, in June 2025.
Those two meetings brought together Ministers of Health, Heads of Civil Service, and senior technical experts from across West and Central Africa to address critical issues surrounding human health workforce development and the integration of certified Community Health Workers (CHWs) into civil service systems.
The Health and Public Service Network of Africa (HaPSNA) serves as a collaborative continental platform dedicated to strengthening governance systems, improving public service performance, and advancing the development of a competent and motivated health workforce across Africa.
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HaPSNA is supported by the Health Development Partnership for Africa and the Caribbean (HeDPAC), a health development organization that partners with governments across Africa and the Caribbean to advance universal health coverage through South-South collaboration, institutional strengthening, and workforce development initiatives.
At previous engagements, participating countries developed a comprehensive policy package and diagnostic instrument known as the Community Health Program Maturity Framework.
The framework is designed to assist countries in assessing, prioritizing, and sequencing reforms across governance, financing, workforce management, service delivery, and information systems.
It will be featured prominently during discussions in Abidjan, where more than 15 participating countries are expected to present progress reports and country experiences on integrating health workers into national civil service systems.
According to a dispatch, the Abidjan meeting will convene policymakers and technical experts from Africa's health and public service sectors to deliberate on key challenges affecting governance and workforce development, including public-sector inefficiencies, institutional fragmentation, financing constraints impacting workforce sustainability, and disparities in institutional capacity across countries and regions.
Ahead of the meeting, Dr. Joekai has called on participating countries to renew their shared commitment to strengthening governance systems, enhancing public service delivery, and building resilient health workforce structures capable of meeting the evolving needs of citizens across the continent.
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"As Chairman of HaPSNA and Director-General of the Civil Service Agency of Liberia, I reaffirm our unwavering commitment to fostering strategic partnerships, professional excellence, and transformative reforms across Africa's public service and health sectors," Dr. Joekai stated.
The 2026 High-Level Meeting in Abidjan will be held under the theme: "Advancing Country-Led Pathways for Strengthening Cornrnunity Health Prograrns through Civil Service Systerns." Dr. Joekai is currently serving the second year of his two-year tenure as Chairman of HaPSNA.
