New data on African health professionals abroad

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Medical Migration Studies
• Global Health Workforce Research

Background:

• International migration of healthcare professionals from Africa is a significant concern, often termed a "medical brain drain."
• Empirical research is limited by a lack of systematic data on the scale of African health worker migration.
• Understanding these movements is crucial for addressing healthcare disparities and workforce planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the international migration of African-born physicians and professional nurses to developed countries.
• To provide a systematic, occupation-specific measure of this migration phenomenon.
• To establish a baseline for future research on the causes and impacts of the African medical brain drain.

Main Methods:

• Utilized destination-country census data from developed nations.
• Estimated the number of African-born doctors and professional nurses working abroad around the year 2000.
• Compared international stocks with in-country (origin) health professional populations.

Main Results:

• Approximately 65,000 African-born physicians and 70,000 African-born professional nurses were working in developed countries in 2000.
• This represents roughly 20% of African-born physicians and 10% of African-born professional nurses globally.
• The proportion of health professionals working abroad varied significantly by country of origin, ranging from 1% to over 70%.

Conclusions:

• Presents the first standardized, systematic, and occupation-specific data on African health professionals in developed countries.
• Highlights the substantial scale of migration for physicians and nurses.
• Underscores the diverse impact of this migration across different African nations.