The World Health Organisation has revealed that Ghana is among 55 countries in the world losing its health workers due to international migration.
This was contained in the WHO health workforce support and safeguards list 2023 which also identified 36 African countries including Nigeria as vulnerable to the availability of health workers required to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal target for universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030.
The organisation attributed this development to the adverse effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on these countries it describes as hardly hit by the pandemic.
‘’The impact of COVID-19 and widespread disruptions to health services has resulted in a rapid acceleration in the international recruitment of health workers. For countries losing health personnel to international migration, this could negatively impact on health systems,” it said.
The health worker shortages according to the director responsible for health worker policy at WHO, Jim Campbell is a threat to the chances of achieving universal health care by 2030 – a key sustainable development goal.
The World Health Organisation further scrutinized the actions of the wealthy countries constantly engaging in recruitment.
“Mechanisms exist for governments or other individuals to notify WHO if they are “worried” about the behaviour of recruiters,” WHO added.
It insisted that the ‘suffering’ countries require priority support for health workforce development and health system strengthening, along with additional safeguards which will limit active international recruitment.