{"id":970,"date":"2010-09-30T17:11:27","date_gmt":"2010-09-30T17:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/?p=970"},"modified":"2018-04-09T10:50:33","modified_gmt":"2018-04-09T10:50:33","slug":"skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/","title":{"rendered":"Skills migration: from \u2018drain\u2019 to gain"},"content":{"rendered":"

The migration of health professionals from Africa in search of higher salaries, job security and career development is by no means new. The NHS has a long history of employing African health professionals. Most observers agree the so-called \u2018Brain Drain\u2019 comes at a significant loss to African health sectors, both\u00a0financial<\/a>\u00a0and in terms of\u00a0human capital<\/a>. Others point to the long term benefits associated with international migration of skilled workers. A recent report by the\u00a0Institute of Public Policy Research<\/a>\u00a0(IPPR) argues that developing countries benefit in kind from migration of skilled workers through remittances, improved trade links and as people return with new knowledge and experience.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0recent article<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Guardian<\/a>\u00a0newspaper argues that the UK\u2019s ‘one-way’ migration policy discourages skilled African immigrants from returning to support the development of their native country, whether temporarily or permanently.\u00a0The article, by a Nigerian doctor working in the NHS, sparked much debate in our office. While we all sympathised with his decision to leave Nigeria for the UK, one colleague found Mr Anya\u2019s tone a little disingenuous \u2013 he said he was concerned about his country but the article focused entirely on his own needs.\u00a0Another colleague suggested he wanted to \u2018have his cake and eat it\u2019 \u2013 he liked the idea of returning home but he wanted his status as a doctor to confer benefits that other immigrants would not be entitled to, namely the right to return to country and job.<\/p>\n

Granted Mr Anya\u2019s tone implied some selfishness, but he does raise a number of important issues which the Home Office would do well to consider. Most African health workers do not intend to move abroad permanently. There is a genuine will within the Diaspora to contribute to the development of their native country, but very few opportunities to do so. The\u00a0UK\u2019s visa framework\u00a0is notoriously rigid. The\u00a0Points Based System<\/a>\u00a0aims to select immigrants the economy needs most. If migrant workers want to return to their native country for longer than six months they risk compromising their visa or citizenship status in the UK.<\/p>\n

In this sense, the aims of UK immigration policy are at odds with the aspirations of our\u00a0\u00a37 billion<\/a>\u00a0international development budget. To quote\u00a0IPPR<\/a>\u00a0\u201cthere is almost no other area of UK policy which is so clearly international in its scope and yet where the sole objective is to maximise benefits to the UK\u201d. A\u00a0recent report<\/a>\u00a0by the British charity\u00a0VSO<\/a>\u00a0argues for the UK to promote \u2018circular migration\u2019, by making provisions for a \u2018pause\u2019 in the citizenship journey for migrants workers wishing to share their skills in their native country. This is one of the key recommendations in the\u00a0World Health Organisation<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Commonwealth Codes of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In an era of global economic integration, it is neither feasible nor morally defensible to prevent qualified African professionals to seek employment opportunities abroad. But the majority of African countries continue to suffer from chronic shortages of health workers. Of the eight\u00a0Millennium Development Goals<\/a>\u00a0agreed in 2000 those relating to the reduction child mortality and improvement of maternal health are the least likely to be met.<\/p>\n

In the run-up to the 2010 general election\u00a0Africa Research Institute<\/a>argued that UK should dedicate a share of its aid budget \u2013 in proportion to the tax contribution of African processionals in Britain \u2013 to reduce the skills deficit in health, education and engineering. In times of fiscal austerity, a programme to encourage circular migration of skilled migrants would be a cost effective way to achieve an ambitious aid target. Skilled migrant workers should be able to take one or two year sabbaticals without having their visa status compromised.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Bhalla<\/strong><\/p>\n

Research Manager –\u00a0Africa Research Institute<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Bhalla investigates whether a programme to encourage circular migration of skilled migrants would be a cost effective way to achieve the UK\u2019s ambitious aid target.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[64,99,102,77,101,103,100],"class_list":["post-970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-africa","tag-brain-drain","tag-diaspora","tag-health","tag-migration","tag-millennium-development-goals","tag-nhs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nSkills migration: from \u2018drain\u2019 to gain - Africa Research Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Skills migration: from \u2018drain\u2019 to gain - Africa Research Institute\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Jonathan Bhalla investigates whether a programme to encourage circular migration of skilled migrants would be a cost effective way to achieve the UK\u2019s ambitious aid target.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AfricaResearch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AfricaResearch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Yovanka ARI\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/\",\"name\":\"Skills migration: from \u2018drain\u2019 to gain - Africa Research Institute\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-09-30T17:11:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-04-09T10:50:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/03660fee7530e23ea5b5e53fe67eedf2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Skills migration: from \u2018drain\u2019 to gain\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Africa Research Institute\",\"description\":\"Building on the Dynamism in Africa Today\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/03660fee7530e23ea5b5e53fe67eedf2\",\"name\":\"Yovanka ARI\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/author\/y-ariyigasdhb76r\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Skills migration: from \u2018drain\u2019 to gain - Africa Research Institute","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Skills migration: from \u2018drain\u2019 to gain - Africa Research Institute","twitter_description":"Jonathan Bhalla investigates whether a programme to encourage circular migration of skilled migrants would be a cost effective way to achieve the UK\u2019s ambitious aid target.","twitter_creator":"@AfricaResearch","twitter_site":"@AfricaResearch","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Yovanka ARI","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/","url":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/","name":"Skills migration: from \u2018drain\u2019 to gain - Africa Research Institute","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-09-30T17:11:27+00:00","dateModified":"2018-04-09T10:50:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/03660fee7530e23ea5b5e53fe67eedf2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/skills-migration-from-drain-to-gain\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Skills migration: from \u2018drain\u2019 to gain"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/","name":"Africa Research Institute","description":"Building on the Dynamism in Africa Today","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/03660fee7530e23ea5b5e53fe67eedf2","name":"Yovanka ARI","url":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/author\/y-ariyigasdhb76r\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=970"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12799,"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970\/revisions\/12799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}