Back and Next - Back and NextBrain drain
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Think of you going through all the pains of raising your family amidst all kind of imaginable hardship, with out a grain of help from whosoever. and at old age, time for you to reap the benefit of your children, someone totally alien to your family got in the way. Instead of your children doing exactly what they are supposed to do, they turned their focus on some strange person that had nothing to do with their upkeep. What would be your response if you were the parent of such siblings?
This analogy illustrates what the world’s poorer countries, mostly African countries, go through. The phenomenon is called "Brain drain". An eluding, economically lethal phenomenon, brain drain continues to besiege and impede the intermittent progress of the developing world, which is losing skilled labor because there are "better paid jobs" in the developed world. In recent years, this has affected poorer countries more so, as some rich countries entice workers away, and workers look to escape desolate circumstances in their poor home countries.
Accordingly, it started in early 60s, when British scientists and intellectuals immigrated to the United States for a better working climate. In recent years, however, the problem of brain drain has been acute for poorer countries like the Gambia, which lose workers to wealthier countries like Britain. Almost ironically, England is now a country where many such workers end up. It can be understandable that people in poorer countries will want to get away from poverty and corruption, and if they can afford to do so, why should they be denied the ability to try? However, we are obliged to highlight the repercussion of such a shape of exodus on the future of poorer countries.
After all individual success can never guarantee a nation’s progress. A lot of money, time and effort have are invested on training professionals. So, to lose these assets, over night, to some unfocused urge for personal advancement, is the most outrageous thing that can happen to nations that are barely struggling for survival.
The problem has been illustrious in the healthcare sector in particular, although not limited to it, because the loss of healthcare professionals in poorer countries leaves already struggling healthcare systems in an even more desperate state. And even more important is that healthcare is the most expensive sector in terms of training. A World Health Organization (WHO) report notes that there is a global shortage of 4.3 million doctors, midwives, nurses, and support workers. That very same report further went onto say that these shortfalls often coexist in countries with large numbers of unemployed health professionals.
Poverty, imperfect private labor markets, lack of public funds, bureaucratic red tape and political interference, among others, produce this paradox of shortages in the midst of underutilized talent. But this problem also illustrates a lack of patriotism on the part of the deserting professionals.
If the pioneers of this so-called developed world had behaved themselves the same greedy way as our professionals are doing, they couldn’t have been where they are today. Therefore, if we must change the tide for our prospective generations, it is high time we changed our attitude. If we are to excel in whatever we do we must think of doing them for those that come after us, and not for us.
This analogy illustrates what the world’s poorer countries, mostly African countries, go through. The phenomenon is called "Brain drain". An eluding, economically lethal phenomenon, brain drain continues to besiege and impede the intermittent progress of the developing world, which is losing skilled labor because there are "better paid jobs" in the developed world. In recent years, this has affected poorer countries more so, as some rich countries entice workers away, and workers look to escape desolate circumstances in their poor home countries.
Accordingly, it started in early 60s, when British scientists and intellectuals immigrated to the United States for a better working climate. In recent years, however, the problem of brain drain has been acute for poorer countries like the Gambia, which lose workers to wealthier countries like Britain. Almost ironically, England is now a country where many such workers end up. It can be understandable that people in poorer countries will want to get away from poverty and corruption, and if they can afford to do so, why should they be denied the ability to try? However, we are obliged to highlight the repercussion of such a shape of exodus on the future of poorer countries.
After all individual success can never guarantee a nation’s progress. A lot of money, time and effort have are invested on training professionals. So, to lose these assets, over night, to some unfocused urge for personal advancement, is the most outrageous thing that can happen to nations that are barely struggling for survival.
The problem has been illustrious in the healthcare sector in particular, although not limited to it, because the loss of healthcare professionals in poorer countries leaves already struggling healthcare systems in an even more desperate state. And even more important is that healthcare is the most expensive sector in terms of training. A World Health Organization (WHO) report notes that there is a global shortage of 4.3 million doctors, midwives, nurses, and support workers. That very same report further went onto say that these shortfalls often coexist in countries with large numbers of unemployed health professionals.
Poverty, imperfect private labor markets, lack of public funds, bureaucratic red tape and political interference, among others, produce this paradox of shortages in the midst of underutilized talent. But this problem also illustrates a lack of patriotism on the part of the deserting professionals.
If the pioneers of this so-called developed world had behaved themselves the same greedy way as our professionals are doing, they couldn’t have been where they are today. Therefore, if we must change the tide for our prospective generations, it is high time we changed our attitude. If we are to excel in whatever we do we must think of doing them for those that come after us, and not for us.
Author: DO
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