UK 'crippling Africa healthcare' (3)
------------------------------------
I agree with Peter Burgess of Tr-Ac-Net in New York, that migra-
tion of health professionals should not be prohibited.
The figures I have for Kenya is that there are about 2,000
nurses who are unemployed because the government does not have
money to employ them. There is an acute shortage of nurses in
public hospitals but the Ministry of Finance will not let the
Ministry of Health employ them since the MoH has exceeded its
budgetary ceilings. We thus have many dispensaries in marginal-
ized areas which are manned by untrained staff. We also have a
lack of laboratory technicians, clinical officers and physio-
therapists.
There is also the problem of unequal distribution of staff, thus
the urban areas are better staffed then rural areas and the
"marginalized" areas are the worst hit.
The tragedy of the situation is that the Kenyans are responsible
for it. We have no money to pay for employing new staff and we
pay the existing poorly and then distribute them unevenly due to
political pressures from Members of Parliament and the Minis-
ters.
We have no money to pay our doctors a decent salary and yet we
pay our Members of Parliament more then what the European pay
their MP's. We pay our MP allowances for sitting in the Parlia-
ment, we pay them to employ 6 staff each in their constituency
and we pay them to travel to their constituency every weekend
when the Parliament is in session. However the MPs are not seen
in constituencies and people have to go to Nairobi to see them.
And everybody gets scared when an MP dies because we have to
bury him at public expense and pay his debts.
So who looks after the people at the grassroots! The MP is in
the capital city, the clinic is closed because it does not have
staff or it is open but is staffed by unqualified staff.
But the health staff especially the nurses are doing a fantastic
job. Can you imagine that she works 8 hours a day alone in a re-
mote area, comes to the clinic at night or on a weekend when
there is women in labour. Everyday the nurse immunizes, does
growth monitoring, provides VCT services, MCH services and
treats patients. And then she has to travel about 50 to 100
miles at the end of every month to get her salary from the dis-
trict headquarters
Dr S K Sharif
Kenya
mailto:sksharif@ikenya.com
UK 'crippling Africa healthcare' (4)
------------------------------------
As interesting as this debate is, I believe it misses the point.
There is a misallocation of resources.
What is needed in the developing world are plumbers. Safe water
and proper sanitation would go a long way to promoting health in
developing countries, and reduce the call on medical services.
Plumbers are cheaper to train than health care workers. As
plumbers are most often self employed, they are also not a drain
on government funds.
More plumbers should be trained, and prevented from emigrating.
One option would be for governments to retrain health care work-
ers as plumbers, and to then prevent them from emigrating.
Dr Stephen Toovey
South Africa
mailto:toovey@travelclinic.co.za
Plain grain or brain drain?
---------------------------
If African countries can spend so much money training health
personnel why can't they spend a little more to retain them? But
we know all the questions - we now seek answers.
The issue of brain drain generally, and the flight of health
professionals abroad in search of better paid jobs specifically,
has received exhaustive discussion. We seem to be engaged in
blame game and end up skirting the problem. Let's step back and
look at things differently, albeit with the same eye.
We should be bold and wise - let's take the bull by the tail.
Let's accept defeat by acknowledging that Africa cannot tackle
the phenomenon of brain drain alone without the cooperation of
the affluent beneficiary nations.
Can we actually start training health professionals and selling
them off to the highest bidder? The money accruing from the
business can be used to motivate the few who stay! We can actu-
ally harvest plain grain from brain drain, or can't we?
Santuah Niagia
Communication Specialist
Population Council
Sub-Saharan Africa Office
Accra, Ghana
mailto:nsantuah@pcaccra.org
Plain grain or brain drain? (2)
-------------------------------
I seem to recall that Cuba did this with some success at one
time.
Dr Stephen Toovey
Johannesburg, South Africa
mailto:toovey@travelclinic.co.za
Plain grain or brain drain? (4)
-------------------------------
Santuah Niagia said:
> "Can we actually start training health professionals and selling
> them off to the highest bidder? The money accruing from the
> business can be used to motivate the few who stay! We can actu-
> ally harvest plain grain from brain drain, or can't we?"
Hhhhhmmm,
This sounds good to the ears. However in my native Cameroon,
with a reputation of twice voted world's most corrupt country,
the money accruing from these sales will almost certainly find
its way into some personal bank accounts... or at least some of
it. Without tackling this monster called corruption, very few
plans will actually work! And the way we are going, this present
generation of doctors leaving Africa for greener pastures would
have retired by the time corruption is defeated... if at all it
will be defeated!
Val
mailto:vcngwa@blueyonder.co.uk
Plain grain or brain drain? (5)
-------------------------------
When you discover a way to stop corruption, let me know. It is
more global than the air we breathe, and the only way I know
that works is to change the heart of man. Working with Brazil's
indigenous people, we have seen hearts changed when they realize
that they can have a personal relationship with their creator.
Until then there will forever be corruption and poverty.
Linda Niehoff
mailto:linda_niehoff@sil.org
Plain grain or brain drain? (7)
-------------------------------
You are very right Linda,
But what or how do we get people to realize the need and how to
have personal relations with our creator? Corruption is the
greatest problem I know and it is driving many to the grave!
What to do? Pray for everybody and most of all to pray to our
creator to help all of us change our hearts and enjoy a healthy
personal relationship with him? (our creator).
Me too would like to know how and when we have found the right
direction!
Good luck and God bless you Linda.
Regards,
Lukesia Rugeiyamu
mailto:lukesiar@yahoo.com