Reversing Africa's brain drain?


With a global shortage of healthcare professionals draining Africa of many of her newly trained medics, what should Africa do to retain its experts?


Africa Recruit is currently organising a conference in London to discuss ways to mobilize African expatriate healthcare professionals for Africa.
Meanwhile governments in Africa face a dilemma. They have thousands of newly trained graduates without jobs, but they are recruiting health care professionals from the developed world.


Is Africa ready as a destination for global recruitment? Should African governments retrain jobless locals and convert their skills?

Well they have to do something, I personally am tired of people here in the states claiming they are getting "training" to go back to Africa to help their people and still in a western country. Knowing good and damn well they have nothing but a dream of going back because western life makes everything easier for them. Yet they continually chastise others of their loss of African heritage while they prepare to go and shop at the mall and buy Hilfiger or other European designers clothing that is made to fit well Euros and their descendants.

I honestly think that it would be better if they grew and retained their own. Drs that know the people and the language as well as areas could be of way more benefit than people just plucked from other countries.

Training for me includes making money. There's a saying that philosophical people mention "When in Rome, do like the Romans"

Africans are doing what the rest of the population engage in Western countries do with "trying to make a living". I dont blame them. But like the majority in these Western countries, they are out doing that weekly thing for hopes of a check to pay bills. With that in mind dreams of going back begin to drift away. Just skill by itself apparently is not enough. It seems the same concept exist in Africa, so there is no way around it. The other way around it is to have back-up support ie African government with international support just like MSF having UN to turn this situation around but so far no news suggest otherwise.

BTW MSF is not used as "life" support only short clinical treatment to "emergency situations" in Africa but Africans are already set to be "life" support when they come to Western countries. For their families back home. And MSF still comes out ahead with some money, fame, and thensome. That is perhaps Africans have to stick around for so so long with dreams deferred.

There should be a Negrofied version of this;





Replace country with continent and the european with an Egyptian. sorry. An African official... one with a ''western friendly'' face to appeal more. Prehaps... Or Marcus Garvey. Someone get to photochopping!

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Dr. Richard Root

Video Story
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[align=left] Seattle, Washington - An American doctor working in Botswana was killed by a crocodile that pulled him from his canoe.

The family and colleagues of Doctor Richard Root say it happened Sunday during a wildlife tour after visiting a clinic.

The crocodile reportedly thrust from the water, grabbed Root, and pulled him under. He was not seen again.

Root was 68, and a medical professor at the University of Washington.

He moved to Botswana to ease a doctor shortage, and was training health care workers to deal with AIDS.

Root was a nationally known expert in infectious disease.
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(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


In the picture he looks relaxed and in the video his family looks quite comfortable. Again training includes making money. Nothing against him and what he tried to accomplish but is this an example of what African governments want to service their medical needs while their own men and women of the soil have to look elsewhere.

Funny name... Root was pulled under.

Shame.

How much do these guys get paid and why is there no drive to pull Africans back to Africa but one to employ europeans to go there? I haven't seen a drive to get doctors back to Africa... even the athletes end up running for western nations and not bringing gold back home. We have so many business people and successful professionals... yet the continent gets no air play.