Report

Brain Drain: Painting a Picture for Africa

“The problem of brain drain has recently been a cause for concern for most African governments and organisations because of the apparent affects on health care service delivery, among other negative
effects. Many possible causes of brain drain have been advanced, couched in terms of push, pull and facilitating factors and other theories of migration. From real, nominal as well as perceived wage differentials between source countries in Africa and destination countries, to non-economic, social, political and cultural factors, the effect of globalisation, improved communication and targeted
migration, have all contributed in exacerbating the problems of the drain of African health care professionals.
This paper revisits the causes of migration, recognises the existence of brain drain and seeks to explore the extent of the problem, and finally proffer possible solutions to ameliorate the effects, drawing largely from both theory and empirical work.”