Touch Foundation is proposing to partner with Digital Square to further improve the Prioritization and Optimization Analysis
(POA) tool and transform it into a Global Good.
POA is a Human Resources for Health (HRH) planning tool developed by Touch Foundation that allows Governments in
resource-constrained countries to optimize the allocation of healthcare workers given supply and financial constraints in order
to improve a population’s access to skilled health services. POA uses WHO’s Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN)
outputs and does not require any additional data collection, effectively magnifying the impact of WISN by providing a
dynamic tool that supports decision makers throughout the entire HRH planning process at both national and local levels.
Touch developed POA through a close collaboration with the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, Community Development,
Gender, Elderly and Children (MOH) and the other national and local government stakeholders involved in the HRH process.
POA is designed to be used by any Government that uses WHO’s WISN (currently 16 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa).