Xenophobia is a distinctive and widespread phenomenon in South and Southern Africa. The print media, in particular, has been accused of exacerbating xenophobic attitudes. This paper discusses press coverage of cross-border migration in Southern Africa from 2000-2003, with a focus on xenophobia. The study revisits research conducted in South Africa by the Southern African Migration Project (SAMP) in the 1990s to
determine what, if any, changes have occurred in that country’s press coverage of the issue.
Human Resources
Understanding press coverage of cross border migration in Southern Africa since 2000
Southern African Migration Project (SAMP)
Globalization, Skilled Migration and Poverty Alleviation: Brain Drains in Context
Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty, University of Sussex
The debate on the 'brain drain', or the emigration of skilled workers, is not new but it has taken on greater urgency in the context of a globalizing economy and ageing societies. Today, the developed world is perceived as poaching the best and the brightest from the developing world, thus prejudicing those countries of their chance of development. This paper starts with two guarded caveats: first, that any brain drain is as much internal within any country as it is among countries and, second, that the skilled migration system should not be seen in isolation from other types of migration. The paper reviews the data available for the analysis of skilled migration and identifies the main global trends. It goes on to examine the globalization of education and of health as reflected in the movement of students and health personnel.
Is There any Solution to the “Brain Drain” of Health Professionals and Knowledge from Africa?
Department of Community Health, University of Malawi College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi
African public health care systems suffer from significant "brain drain" of its health care professionals and knowledge as health workers migrate to wealthier countries such as Australia, Canada, USA, and the United Kingdom. Knowledge generated on the continent is not readily accessible to potential users on the continent. In this paper, the brain drain is defined as both a loss of health workers (hard brain drain) and unavailability of research results to users in Africa (soft brain drain). The "pull" factors of "hard brain drain" include better remuneration and working conditions, possible job satisfaction, and prospects for further education, whereas the "push" factors include a lack of better working conditions including promotion opportunities and career advancement.
An approach to estimating human resource requirements for the MDGs
Health Policy and Planning 2005 20(5):267-276
In the context of the Millennium Development Goals, human resources represent the most critical constraint in achieving the targets. Therefore, it is important for health planners and decision-makers to identify what are the human resources required to meet those targets. Planning the human resources for health is a complex process. It needs to consider both the technical aspects related to estimating the number, skills and distribution of health personnel for meeting population health needs, and the political implications, values and choices that health policy- and decision-makers need to make within given resources limitations.
Human resources for health in Africa
BMJ 2005;331:1037-1038
African countries have a very low density health workforce, compounded by poor skill mix and inadequate investment. Yet trained healthcare staff continue to migrate from Africa to more developed countries. The World Health Organization has estimated that, to meet the ambitious targets of the millennium development goals, African health services will need to train and retain an extra one million health workers by 2010.
No consensus on solution to brain drain
International and local delegates to the Scotland-Malawi conference held in Edinburgh, Scotland recently were alarmed with the shortage of health workers in the country which they said has worsened due to brain drain. But the conference failed to reach a consensus to curb the problem. Some delegates suggested that an immediate deportation of the health workers from the United Kingdom while others proposed that the UK should pay back.
An action plan to prevent brain drain: Building Equitable Health
A report by Physicians for Human Rights
"The nations of the world are setting ambitious health and development goals, including the World Health Organization (WHO) target of providing AIDS treatment to 3 million people by 2005 and health-related UN Millennium Development Goals. Unless greater attention by donors and governments is given to developing human resources, these goals almost certainly will not be met. Many of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the region that will be the focus of this report, are experiencing severe shortages of skilled health care workers. There are multiple causes, the significance of which varies by country, but one of the most important factors is brain drain."
Perceptions of medical students, faculty and private GPs towards the utilization of private GPs in the teaching of undergraduate medical students in Malawi: a qualitative study
Produced under the EQUINET Student Grant Scheme
A qualitative study was conducted in Malawi to describe the perceptions of medical students, recent medical graduates, faculty members of the Malawi College of Medicine and private general practitioners (GPs) towards a proposed utilization of GPs in the teaching of undergraduate medical students. General Practitioners welcomed these proposed changes whilst the majority of students, recent graduates and faculty were opposed to this idea. General practitioners were perceived not to be able to adapt to the culture of public teaching hospitals.
The Metrics of the Physician Brain Drain
The New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 353:1810-1818 , October 27, 2005, Number 17
"There has been substantial immigration of physicians to developed countries, much of it coming from lower-income countries...International medical graduates constitute between 23 and 28 percent of physicians in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, and lower-income countries supply between 40 and 75 percent of these international medical graduates. The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia draw a substantial number of physicians from South Africa, and the United States draws very heavily from the Philippines. Nine of the 20 countries with the highest emigration factors are in sub-Saharan Africa or the Caribbean."
Understanding African migration for pro-poor policymaking
id21 Research Highlight
Migration has long been an important part of labour markets and livelihoods across Africa. It is estimated that there are between 20 and 50 million African migrants today. Migration flows have implications for meeting the Millennium Development Goals, but their effects are poorly understood. Most African governments, however, are concerned with the migration of educated professionals abroad, or the 'brain drain'. It is estimated that US$4 billion is spent on replacing African professionals with expatriates, mostly through aid programmes.