Migration and Development: Brain Drain Weakens the Health Care Systems of Developing Countries

Especially bad working conditions, low salaries and the heavy job burden push the employees to richer countries. The situation is at its worst at areas with the biggest HIV/Aids problems.

According to a recent study, in Zimbabwe, for example, 68 per cent of health care employees would be ready to move abroad. In some African countries (Liberia, Uganda) there are under 10 nurses for 100 000 inhabitants.

Remittances to development countries are, on the other hand, prominent. The amounts of known money transfers go way beyond the amounts of official Development Aid. In reality, transferred amounts are probably even larger, because the estimates do not take into account the money transfers that travel via unofficial channels. On average, migrant women earn less, but, in proportion, they send a larger amount of their salaries back to their countries of origin.

The UNFPA annual report concentrates on women and migration. It was published on 6.9 prior to the UN High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development on 14-15.9 in New York.

The Call for Coherence –conference, organized by Kehys ry on 2-3.10, will also concentrate on remittances and brain drain under the theme Migration and Development. The conference will gather 250 experts on policy coherence for development in Helsinki. It is organized in co-operation with the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Development Policy Committee and the Commission of the European Union.