This is from the Daily Observer through Allafrica.com
http://allafrica.com/stories/200803110730.html.
Just curious what folks may have to respond.
Malanding
Gambia: Brain Drain
The Daily Observer <http://www.observer.gm/enews/> (Banjul)
EDITORIAL
11 March 2008
Posted to the web 11 March 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.
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