Rethinking Human Resources for Health Planning in Labour Markets Disrupted by Conflict-Affected and Fragile Settings; Comment on “Human Resources for Health in Conflict Affected Settings: A Scoping Review of Primary Peer Reviewed Publications 2016–2022”

Document Type : Commentary

Author

Centre for Global Health and Intersectional Equity Research, University of Essex, Colchester, UK

Abstract

In a world still grappling with exploring the underlying dynamics of challenges confronting human resources for health (HRH), how must the HRH research and planning ensue in conflict-affected settings (CAS)? Onvlee and colleagues undertake a scoping review to respond to this important question, using the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Health Labour Market (HLM) framework, to leverage upon available evidence. This commentary appraises the conceptual and methodological contributions of the review, while questioning the suitability of HLM to analyse HRH challenges in disrupted health systems. It argues that CAS-specific HRH planning exacts frameworks and approaches more attuned to political economy, contextual fragility, and structural inequalities, which shape healthcare workers’ vulnerabilities and responses in CAS. The commentary identifies five gap questions for future scholarship, calling for intersectionality-driven, politically informed and context-specific research approaches for HRH evidence, transcending supply and demand framing of HRH, to inform HRH policies in conflict-affected and fragile settings.

Keywords

References

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History

  • Received Date: 11 October 2025
  • Revised Date: 07 January 2026
  • Accepted Date: 28 January 2026
  • First Published Date: 08 February 2026
  • Published Date: 01 December 2026

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