Ustaadh
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 25, 2009
- 413
- 19
Almost all the developing countries have faced the problem of brain drain. They have seen the mass exodus of skilled intellectual and technical labour. The brain drain of a nation becomes the brain-gain of another. Poor countries in Africa and Asia face the negative consequences emanating from brain drain. As a result, developing countries are not able to sustain a meaningful level of economic growth, competitiveness and development.
It has been generally observed that individuals with little or no education generally have limited access to international migration. Previously, Western Europe lost its talented professionals, especially to the United States, up until the 1960s. The developing countries have emerged in recent years as the biggest suppliers of qualified professionals to the industrialised world.
Today, there are more than a million expatriates from the developing countries in Western Europe, US, Japan and Canada. The US's education system and its research institutions are heavily dependent on them. These migrant professionals contribute in no small way to increasing the disparities between the world's rich and poor nations. And it is the developing countries that need them most.
Countries and centres of academic excellence, which offer these attractions have received the largest numbers of professional migrants and these have, in turn, made substantial contributions, not only to the economic growth of their hosts, but also to the scientific and technological advancement of humanity.
The wave of German scientists who moved to the US after the Second World War, and their discoveries and inventions, come readily to mind. On a global level, the free movement and interaction of highly skilled people is a positive thing. But the cost to the home countries of losing their professionals is incalculable. A country invests a lot in the training and education of its citizen.
In terms of who has borne the brunt of the brain drain, Africa is at the top. It is estimated to have lost 60, 000 professionals (doctors, university lecturers, engineers, surveyors, etc) between 1985 and 1990 and to have been losing an average of 20,000 annually ever since.
Africa has paid a heavy cost, with the health sector having suffered the most. The mass exodus of health professionals has eroded the ability of medical and social services in several sub-Saharan countries to deliver even basic health and social needs. Thirty-eight of the 47 sub-Saharan African countries fall short of the minimum World Health Organisation (WHO) standard of 20 physicians per 100,000 people.
The statistics are as follows: Since 1990, Africa has been losing 20,000 professionals annually;
Over 300,000 professionals reside outside Africa;
Ethiopia lost 75 per cent of its skilled workforce between 1980-91;
It costs $40,000 to train a doctor in Kenya; $15,000 for a university student.
Some 35 per cent of total ODA to Africa is spent on expatriate professionals.
The primary cause of external brain drain in is unreasonably low wages paid to African professionals. The contradiction is that Africa spends nearly about four billion dollars annually to recruit and pay 100,000 expatriates to work in Africa but has failed to spend a proportional amount to recruit the 250,000 African professionals now working outside Africa. African professionals working in Africa are paid considerably less than similarly qualified expatriates.
We must also not forget a fact that it is utter nonsense to assume that it is possible to stop the flow that is at the very basis of human nature: to strive for better: Unless one reverts globalization, imposes rigorous restrictions on immigration, and suppresses civil liberties. To stop the brain drain, Africa must evolve to compete at the same level as the rest of the world for the 'best humans'. Democracy, security and better living standards. Unless Africa achieve these minimum prerequisites, the brain drain will not only continue, but it could also amplify.
It has been generally observed that individuals with little or no education generally have limited access to international migration. Previously, Western Europe lost its talented professionals, especially to the United States, up until the 1960s. The developing countries have emerged in recent years as the biggest suppliers of qualified professionals to the industrialised world.
Today, there are more than a million expatriates from the developing countries in Western Europe, US, Japan and Canada. The US's education system and its research institutions are heavily dependent on them. These migrant professionals contribute in no small way to increasing the disparities between the world's rich and poor nations. And it is the developing countries that need them most.
Countries and centres of academic excellence, which offer these attractions have received the largest numbers of professional migrants and these have, in turn, made substantial contributions, not only to the economic growth of their hosts, but also to the scientific and technological advancement of humanity.
The wave of German scientists who moved to the US after the Second World War, and their discoveries and inventions, come readily to mind. On a global level, the free movement and interaction of highly skilled people is a positive thing. But the cost to the home countries of losing their professionals is incalculable. A country invests a lot in the training and education of its citizen.
In terms of who has borne the brunt of the brain drain, Africa is at the top. It is estimated to have lost 60, 000 professionals (doctors, university lecturers, engineers, surveyors, etc) between 1985 and 1990 and to have been losing an average of 20,000 annually ever since.
Africa has paid a heavy cost, with the health sector having suffered the most. The mass exodus of health professionals has eroded the ability of medical and social services in several sub-Saharan countries to deliver even basic health and social needs. Thirty-eight of the 47 sub-Saharan African countries fall short of the minimum World Health Organisation (WHO) standard of 20 physicians per 100,000 people.
The statistics are as follows: Since 1990, Africa has been losing 20,000 professionals annually;
Over 300,000 professionals reside outside Africa;
Ethiopia lost 75 per cent of its skilled workforce between 1980-91;
It costs $40,000 to train a doctor in Kenya; $15,000 for a university student.
Some 35 per cent of total ODA to Africa is spent on expatriate professionals.
The primary cause of external brain drain in is unreasonably low wages paid to African professionals. The contradiction is that Africa spends nearly about four billion dollars annually to recruit and pay 100,000 expatriates to work in Africa but has failed to spend a proportional amount to recruit the 250,000 African professionals now working outside Africa. African professionals working in Africa are paid considerably less than similarly qualified expatriates.
We must also not forget a fact that it is utter nonsense to assume that it is possible to stop the flow that is at the very basis of human nature: to strive for better: Unless one reverts globalization, imposes rigorous restrictions on immigration, and suppresses civil liberties. To stop the brain drain, Africa must evolve to compete at the same level as the rest of the world for the 'best humans'. Democracy, security and better living standards. Unless Africa achieve these minimum prerequisites, the brain drain will not only continue, but it could also amplify.