Moves to stop brain drain of health professionals

Moves are underway to formulate an International Convention to prevent the brain drain of health professionals in the Third World countries following a proposal by Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva.

The Minister attended a special conference on Health Worker Migration Initiative Global Policy Advisory Council Meeting at the Commonwealth Secretariat organised by the World Health Organisation and Global Health Workforce Alliance and the Commonwealth Secretariat London to develop an International convention on health professionals migrating from Third World countries to developed countries.

The objectives of the conference are to review and discuss the draft Global Code of Practice to gather inputs for formal Council submission, reflect on factors and challenges to ensure the success of a Global Code of Practice, reflect on the role of the Gulf States in the global health worker labour market and hold preliminary discussions on the content of the Council Final Recommendations Report, a health Ministry release said.

Commonwealth Secretary General of Commonwealth Secretariat Kamalesh Sharma, Co-Chair, Health Worker Migration Global Policy Advisory Council Dr. Francis Omaswa, Executive Directors Global Health Workforce Alliance Mary Robinson, Dr. Mubashar Sheikh, WHO EURO Regional Director Dr. Mark Danson and Sierra Leone Health Minister Soccoh Kabia also participated.

Minister de Silva as a member of the WHO Executive Committee had pointed out that the Third World countries are gradually losing the services of health professionals like medical officers, nursing officers and Paramedics as they migrate to developed countries.

The World Health Organisation should come forward to deal with this situation, it said.

Following the Minister’s request, WHO has decided to formulate an international convention to minimise the advise effects.

Third World countries invest a large amount on skilled health professionals but certain developed countries obtain their services by paying huge salaries.

If those countries do not return them to their Motherlands, there should be a methodology to refund the total amount of money spent on them. The Minister invited the WHO to intervene in this matter to find a solution. Countries in the South East region, Africa and Latin America too expressed the fullest cooperation.

Meanwhile the Minister will participate in the Roll Back Malaria Partnership High Level Meeting on September 25 in New York. Sri Lanka has succeeded in controlling Malaria.

The Minister will make a special speech on the Malaria control programme and child and maternal health in Sri Lanka focusing on Millennium Development Goals.

The Health Minister will also attend a special meeting on formulating the agenda for the next executive committee meeting of the WHO in Geneva, the release said.