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WHO guidelinesfor migration of health
professionals recommended by TUC & GRNA
Accra, Dec. 18, Ghanadot/GNA - The Health Services Workers
Union (HSWU) of the Ghana TUC and the Ghana Registered
Nurses Association (GRNA) have jointly called for the
effective implementation of World Health Organisation (WHO)
guidelines to streamline the negative effects on migrant
health professionals from developing countries like Ghana to
the developed countries.
A joint statement signed by Mr J. G Akoto, General Secretary
of the HSWU in solidarity with Public Services International
(PSI), to mark this year's "International Migrant Day",
which falls on Tuesday December 18, urged the PSI to enact a
code of practice to curb the undue exploitation of such
migrant health workers.
"A strict implementation of such WHO guidelines is
imperative to prevent the total collapse of the health
services in some of the developing countries", the statement
said.
It expressed regret that although the WHO had produced a
code of practice to streamline the recruitment of qualified
health staff only in the Pacific Region in response to the
Unions and other civil society organisations appreciable
efforts to globalise it had not been successful.
The statement contended that the lack of a global code for
ethical recruitment coupled with the very low remunerations,
undervaluing of women's work in the health sector as well as
the chronic under-funding of public health systems, had all
combined to undermine efforts by the United Nations'
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The statement urged the government and all well-meaning
Ghanaians to fight against the "brain drain" of health
professionals.
It accused the developed world of exploiting developing
countries to solve their own staff shortages and reminded
them to bear responsibility for mitigating the negative
effects of overseas recruitment on struggling developing
health services.
"Sub-Saharan Africa is short of 620,000 nurses required to
tackle the deadly HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, as
well as meeting the MDGs expectations".
Britain alone, the statement revealed saved $117 million
dollar by recruiting Ghanaian doctors between 1998 and 2003,
while Ghana lost $63 million dollars in investment in the
training of her health professionals.
The statement said during the period, the average per capita
health spending in Britain was $1,668 compared to $11in
Ghana, according to PSI website.
It called for policies to regulate the migration of health
workers to ensure that the receiving employers, recruitment
agencies and governments from the developed world did not
poach counterparts already suffering from severs shortages
of qualified health personnel.
GNA
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