The brain drain of healthcare workers from low- and middle-income countries has increased sharply due to the impact of the global Covid pandemic and the degradation of health systems. This is stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), which recently published a list of 55 countries where the situation is precarious.
These countries are losing healthcare workers to international migration, which can have a negative impact on local health systems. Often the nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals are recruited by other – rich – countries.
Of the 55 countries, 37 are in the WHO African region, eight in the Western Pacific, six in the Eastern Mediterranean, three in the Southeast Asian region, and one in the Americas.
The list is an update of the 2020 publication; since then, eight new countries have been added to the WHO 2023 Health Workers Support and Protection List.
Healthcare workers are the backbone of any health system, yet 55 countries with some of the world’s most fragile health systems are facing shortages. They often lose their health workers to international migration,” said Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. He called on ‘all countries’ to respect the provisions in the WHO list.
Among other things, active, international recruitment should be limited. The countries included in the WHO list have less than 49 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10 thousand people. International recruitment will not be banned, but countries should make mutual agreements about the migration of healthcare workers. Part of such an agreement should be an analysis of the labor market. It must also be clear what the benefits are for the countries involved.
