'Stop raping poor countries'
2005-07-05 09:10
Olivier Lucazeau
London - Britain faced charges of hypocrisy for urging the world's most powerful nations to end poverty in Africa while it "systematically robs" the world's poorest countries of its doctors and nurses.
Two-thirds of the doctors and 40% of the nurses who entered the British job market last year were trained outside Britain, many of them in Africa, the British Medical Association (BMA) said.
BMA chairperson James Johnson said "the rape of the poorest countries must stop" as British Prime Minister Tony Blair prepared to open a summit on Wednesday of Group of Eight (G8) leaders devoted to fighting poverty in Africa.
Hypocritical remarks, criticism
"It is completely pointless for the United Kingdom (UK) to give aid to Africa if we then systematically rob them of their most precious resource, the skilled people who have the practical ability to prevent and treat disease," Johnson said.
"As long as we cynically underproduce doctors and nurses in this country, the world's poorest countries will pay the price," he added.
In 2003, 5 880 work permits were granted to doctors and nurses from South Africa, 2 825 from Zimbabwe, 1 510 from Nigeria, and 850 from Ghana.
In all, 31% of doctors working in Britain were trained overseas, compared to 5% in France and Germany, according to the Lancet, a specialised medical publication.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) reported that 55 000 foreign nurses, including 16 000 from Africa, had been recruited in Britain since 1999.
Recruitment beneficial for British economy
Such recruitment provides a considerable saving for the British economy.
The BMA said it would have cost the British government £s;1.95bn to train the same number of doctors and nurses who came from sub-Saharan Africa since 1999.
The figure far exceeds the £s;560m pounds given to African hospitals over the same period by the international development ministry.
The "looting" is such that Birmingham, the second most populous city in England, now has more nurses from Malawi than Malawi itself, according to the RCN.
In Ghana, the situation is as bleak.
"Tony Blair says Africa is a scar on the conscience of the world, but then why does the UK rob us of our medical staff," said Sylvia Osei, a young nurse who works at Korle Bu hospital outside Ghana's capital of Accra.
Ghana, a British colony until 1957, is today drained of educated people, according to the Lancet. Two thirds of its doctors leave in the three years after they graduate from medical schools.
Officially, Blair's Labour government in 2001 adopted an ethical code by forbidding the National Health Service (NHS) from recruiting from poor countries.
The World Health Organisation says Britain has 166 doctors for every 100 000 people, compared to nine per 100 000 in Ghana. However, the recruitment trend could continue as Britain lags behind France, which has 329 doctors for 100 000 people.
- AFP