The department has noted media reports regarding apparent rebellion against the Government’s proposed National Health Insurance. Brain drain of health personnel in search of a better standard of living and life quality, higher salaries, access to advanced technology and more stable political conditions in different places worldwide is a common global phenomenon.
As long ago as 1998 Weiner, Mitchell, Price published findings that data from South African medical schools suggested that a third to a half of medical graduates emigrated to the developed world. There are many well documented ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors, such as:
Push Factors
Pull Factors
Policies that are currently in place to control healthcare worker migration have, since May 2010, included the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel. This is a voluntary protocol that sets principles and recommendations for health workers and associated stakeholders concerning migration. The key components of the code include:
Our own policy considers directly addressing some of the push and pull factors that drive health workers to migrate. But the issue is complex and multifaceted, particularly because demand remains for healthcare workers in developed countries.
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