of staff are concentrated in the Lomé Commune alone compared to only 9.26% in the Savannah region and 15.67% in the Plateaux region. 189. Specifically, about 69% of the medical staff (general medical practitioners, specialist doctors, pharmacists, dentists) practice in Lomé at the expense of the other regions. This has resulted in the lack of these categories of staff, particularly in the health facilities in hard-to-reach regions (HRD 2014 Annual Report). 190. A survey carried out by the World Bank confirmed this situation by indicating that 75% of doctors were concentrated in the urban areas where 20% of the population can be found. This implies that only 17% are found in the rural communities where most of the needs are (World Bank, 2013). Chart No. 3: Distribution per region of healthcare tracer staff in 2014 0.080 0.060 0.040 0.020 0.000 Savanes Médecins Kara Centrale Plateaux Maritime Lomé C Infirmiers Sages-femmes Source: Developed from data 191. Even the regional competitive examinations of 2013 did not provide an avenue to significantly reduce the disparities between the regions. 192. With regard to gender, generally, the disparity is not all that significant since in Togo there are professions that are specifically practised by women (midwives and assistant State midwives (AAE). The proportion of female staff is 43.06% as against 56.94% of the male staff. Chart No. 4: Distribution of Healthcare Staff in Togo per Gender in 2014 58