[Excerpt from authors]This paper examines some of the issues of human resources in the health sector, focusing on the situation in Africa in view of its particularly critical state. First, we examine the current state of the health sector workforce, including the latest statistics and trends. Second, we analyze the economic factors that influence the availability of human resources. Next, we take a close look at the brain loss phenomenon, or exodus of trained health care professionals from the country or from the sector. Then, a discussion of the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the workforce itself and working conditions follows. Last, we conclude with some issues that governments and development partners need to tackle to address the growing human resources crisis in the African health sector.