Grace Natabaalo & Agencies
4 March 2008
Munyonyo — THE first conference addressing the global shortage of health workers opened in Kampala yesterday.
The World Health Organization says a further four million doctors, nurses, midwives and other health care professionals are needed worldwide.
The WHO says the shortage is affecting basic services such as immunisation, child birth and treatment of diseases.
There is a critical shortage of health workers in 57 countries, most of which are in Africa.
Medical staff from Africa and Asia often migrate to richer countries where pay and conditions are better.
On average, one in four doctors trained in Africa is working in the developed world.
The conference, which is being attended by health ministers from some of the worst affected countries, aims to produce a global action plan.
The Executive Director of Global Health Workforce Alliance, Dr Francis Omaswa, said yesterday that the migration of health workers from developing countries to rich ones is unacceptable.
He added that although it cannot be halted, it should be managed.
Dr Omaswa who is also a former director of health services in Uganda was addressing journalists yesterday.
The forum themed, "Action On The Health Workforce; The Time Is Now" will also address migration of healthcare professionals, unfavourable and challenging working conditions, among other issues.
"The challenges of migration and retention will be underlined as an issue for action....health worker migration must be managed- it cannot be halted," Dr Omaswa said.
President Yoweri Museveni while opening the meeting said international recruitment practices are threatening to deplete Uganda of its scarce and highly professional health workers.
In a speech delivered by the Prime Minister, Apolo Nsibambi, President Museveni said there was need to evolve policies in favour of both developed and developing countries with regard to migration of workers.
"The recipient nation and the immigrating physicians benefit from this migration, but less developed countries lose important health capacities as a result," he said.
He said although Uganda was benefiting from the remittances from the physicians abroad, it was losing its workers. According to WHO, currently, at least 316 Ugandan doctors are working in developed countries.
Uganda is facing an acute shortage as there is only one doctor for every 15,000 patients far below the recommended 1.5 per 10 patients.
Last October, technocrats in the Ministry of Health reported a staggering shortfall of 2,290 nurses out of the required 5,568 in government funded hospitals alone.
Sub-Saharan Africa has only 3 per cent of the world's health workforce yet it has the biggest disease burden of 25 per cent.
"This is a crisis that has developed before our eyes. Unless this workforce shortage crisis is overcome, international health goals will not be met, quality of life of populations will further degenerate and suffering and death will increase," Dr Omaswa said.
Health Minister Stephen Mallinga said it was an urgent crisis that needed to be dealt with immediately.
"In Uganda we are taking this seriously and we are trying to address it," he said.
He said the government would make sure that those who are admitted into the medical schools and nursing institutions complete their studies and are kept in Uganda through increased salaries and better conditions.
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