Vincent Oketcho, Chief of Party, Uganda Capacity Project

“I became interested in the health workforce because I’ve seen it firsthand,” says Vincent Oketcho, who began his global health career as a medical doctor specializing in public health. “In Uganda, we’re short of people, in number, in skills. They are not performing to expectation, they come late and leave early, they are not motivated, there is a high turnover—all this makes work very hard and leaves you frustrated.”

Vincent’s experience led him to work in Uganda’s Ministry of Health as head of the Human Resources Division for nearly a decade before he left to work with the African Medical and Research Foundation and later for the Medical Assistance Program International for Eastern Africa. He joined IntraHealth in 2007.

Now, as chief of party, Vincent leads the organization’s Uganda Capacity Program, which focuses on human resources for health and works closely with Uganda’s Ministry of Health, health professional councils, and districts to more effectively manage their health workforce.

“Overall, we have positioned human resources for health at the top of the agenda in Uganda,” says Vincent. “It’s now highly regarded as a priority area for action. We have also positioned IntraHealth as the organization that has the information and ideas that people listen to.”

Vincent explains that a big challenge is that health worker issues often don’t have simple solutions. Human resource issues are impacted by other health system issues—infrastructure, supply chain, financing—and tackling them requires engaging many different stakeholders and often addressing policy implications, both of which can slow the process of finding solutions. “Some things are beyond our control but are real issues. If you support recruitment, but there is no accommodation for new staff, it won’t succeed,” he explains. “If there is no money for salaries for additional staff, recruitment support will be of no consequence. If health workers are underpaid, interventions to improve performance won’t succeed. That is the nature of our work, and it’s hard to find ways around some issues.”

However, he says, with time, change can happen and can be very effective. “Once you break [through], you are happy because the change is likely to be long-lasting.”

 “I find myself where I belong,” says Vincent. “The values of IntraHealth are strong: integrity, honesty, transparency, and fairness. I find those to be good values that have shaped my life.”

He adds, “I enjoy my work, and it has humbled me and helped me be a better person.”

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