Health workforce metrics pre- and post-2015: a stimulus to public policy and planning

Background Evidence-based health workforce policies are essential to ensure the provision of high-quality health services and to support the attainment of universal health coverage (UHC). This paper describes the main characteristics of available health workforce data for 74 of the 75 countries identified under the ‘Countdown to 2015’ initiative as accounting for more than 95% of the world’s maternal, newborn and child deaths. It also discusses best practices in the development of health workforce metrics post-2015.