This paper discusses the current challenges in health human resources management in Brazil. It presents highlights of the theme in America, especially Brazil, due to its organizational characteristics. It also presents the findings of a research on the managerial ability of human resources in municipal and state Health Secretaries in large urban centers and the capillarity of sectorial work relations and education in health. The central issue concerns changes in this area, after the creation of the Secretary for Work and Education Management in Health. The results vary, with more significant adhesion indexes for prior actions in work regulation in health education strategic programs. This facts means, on one hand, that human resources are able to really become real spaces of work management in the health system; on the other hand, the need to strengthen competences for education policies. Analyzing these results, we point out limits, backlogs and possibilities to support the sub-national spheres in Brazil, besides models that can be adopted by Portuguese-speaking and Latin-American countries.
health human resources; work management; education management
