Dr JA Asamani is a health economist and health system scientist who works with the Africa Regional Office of the World Health Organisation (WHO/AFRO) as a Technical Advisor on Human Resources Health Systems, where he supports 20 countries in eastern and southern Africa. James’ core expertise is in the health workforce, health economics, health planning and policy, and decision analytic modelling in health, and he has published widely in those areas. He is a 2015 Commonwealth Scholar and holds postgraduate degrees in Health Economics and Health Policy (University of Birmingham, UK); Nursing and Healthcare Management (University of Ghana); and completed a PhD in Health Sciences at the North-West University, South Africa, where his research focused on development and application of a need-based planning model for health professionals in Ghana’s primary healthcare settings.