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Africa |
SOCIAL CONDITIONS
Since achieving independence, many African countries have made enormous investments in educating and training their young people so that they can assist in their respective country’s development. However, thousands of skilled young Africans are drifting towards Western nations
Current figures are alarming. Experts at a recent forum in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, heard that out of 1,000 young people going abroad for further studies annually, only 35 return home. African countries are now claiming compensation from the West.
However, African governments cannot escape the blame; bad governance, unstable political situations, unfavourable labour relations, meagre salaries and lack of information about furthering their careers, scare away skilled people from returning to their countries.
The University of South Africa has also released a report painting a gloomy picture of what is happening. Skilled young people from Africa are continually migrating to such countries as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, the United Kingdom, in search of a better life. The survey indicates that 100,000 people have left South Africa during the past three years, while 70% of the skilled labour force are said to be contemplating similar action. The survey also reveals that in 1999, 39,000 South Africans left the country to join the 1.6 million living abroad.
Those leaving were found to be engineers, accountants and bankers. 60% left because of the rising crime rate (reckoned to be 10 times higher than in the USA). The HIV/AIDS epidemic is also pinpointed as another reason for people leaving. And the fact of the ever-increasing unemployment rate (now standing at 30 percent), scarcely encourages people to stay on at home.
The example of Malawi
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in Southern Africa. The country’s newly nominated representative to the international assembly of the Association of Chartered Accountants (ACCA), Olive Bakili, says the brain drain is wrecking havoc in the accountancy sector. Because companies are frequently going into liquidation, the availability of accountancy jobs is decreasing, so a number of ACCA members have relocated to wealthier countries of the sub-region such as South Africa, Botswana and Namibia for better wages. Only 20% of qualified accountants trained by the government, are working in the public sector. 80% are in the predominantly private commerce and industry sector.
The health sector is also affected by the brain drain. Records show that at least five qualified and experienced doctors leave the public health sector in Malawi every year. It’s significant that the life expectancy for the average citizen has dropped from 52 years in 1998 to 46 in 2001.
Lilian Ng’oma is Malawi’s controller of nursing services. She is worried that her members are leaving in droves either for the UK or for the private sector. About 5% of the total number of nurses working in government hospitals are reported to be leaving.
There is a positive note, however, as the government is making efforts to alleviate the situation. The shortage of nurses will be eased in the near future, promises Ng’oma, saying the government has embarked on a training programme using German Technical Corporation (GTZ) assistance and funds accruing from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
Last year, the government recruited 245 nurses for a two-year general nursing training after obtaining GTZ help. It is to recruit another 250 for training. Ng’oma says: «Should the training scheme continue to get support, it will mitigate the shortage of nurses. At least our government is not sitting idle!»
Malawi’s health ministry has announced it is to establish a Special Health Service Commission to solve the problems created by the exodus of doctors and paramedics from public institutions. The exodus and frequent industrial action among health personnel in government hospitals has spurred the Government on to take positive steps.
Health Minister Yusufu Mwawa explains: «The Health Ministry has formulated a National Human Resource Development Plan. This is a six-year emergency training programme to produce 1,000 health professionals each year. The Ministry has already received the go-ahead from the Cabinet Committee on HIV/AIDS for this initiative, and is to present to Parliament documents outlining the function and modus operandi of the commission, so that a Draft Act can be prepared. Once the Special Commission for the Health Sector is established, it will enable the ministry to respond to a wide array of personnel matters, including that of looking into salary increases».
International efforts
Following a consultative meeting in Ethiopia, the World Bank and the World Health Organisation, later joined by UNESCO, the Rockfeller Foundation and USAID, launched a task force to tackle Africa’s brain drain. The initial meeting was attended by delegates from 17 African countries, and participants included deans of schools of medicine and nursing, representatives of professional associations, representatives from the ministries of health, education, planning, finance, local government and labour as well as services commissions.
Resolutions taken included the urgent need for African governments to improve the environment in which healthcare providers work in Africa; i.e. remuneration, deployment and skilled human resource planning.
But, unless Africans themselves take up the challenge, the task force might just end up as another public relations exercise from international organisations.
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PeaceLink 2002 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement