It is very unfortunate and somewhat ironic that the areas that need health care workers the most are the areas where health care is not only lacking, but also getting worse. With high prevalence of deadly diseases like HIV, TB, and malaria, doctors are of great necessity in sub-Saharan Africa. However, successful doctors that originate from sub-Saharan Africa often leave the continent and search for better opportunities in developed countries like Britain, Australia, and the US. This leaves sub-Saharan Africa with an ever increasing need of physicians and also short on funding as the governments spend thousands of dollars to train each doctor.
On one side, it could be argued that the doctors are at fault for leaving their region that is in dire need of help. On the other hand, the doctor’s right to migrate must also be considered. Being a physician in sub-Saharan African can be very challenging, thus there is a push for the physicians to find a new place to practice with better reward. The medical facilities in Africa are often lacking and because of the limited amount of health care workers, the workload can be very draining. In addition, funding is short so they are likely not to be well financially rewarded.
A way to remedy the cost of the doctor brain drain in Africa is by somewhat modeling the medical school finances of the US. Aspiring physicians in Africa should be required to fund medical school on their own, or sign a contract with the government for several years in a certain region if they would like their medical school to be paid for. This way, physicians in Africa are at least incentivized to serve their nations once they are done with their education.
The article can be found here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/25/us-african-doctors-migration-idUSTRE7AO00O20111125?ca=moto
