Resilience and Brain Drain in Sub-Saharan Africa

This is my working abstract/outline for my research paper...

Abstract: There has been a recent emphasis in the development aid community towards building resilience, meaning increasing a community’s ability to bounce back from external shocks.  Health knowledge is a key element in ensuring resilience at a household, community, and national level.  The human capital flight (brain drain) of health care professionals in sub-Saharan Africa severely undermines the ability of African communities to respond to everyday health care needs, as well as during crisis, at a local and national level.  This paper will examine the underlying causes of brain drain, its cost (social and economic) to Africans, and what can be done at a local, national, and international level to discourage brain drain and to mitigate the negative effects of brain drain.

Research Questions:  How does the human capital flight (brain drain) of health care professionals in Africa affect the ability of Africans to respond to health problems at a local and national level? What steps can national and international actors take to mitigate the brain drain problem?

Outline:

Introduction

·         Sustainable development needs to build resilience

·         Focus on health as important for ensuring resilience

·         Health knowledge as important factor

·         Lack of health knowledge and expertise undermines a community’s/nation’s ability to react to everyday health needs of a community as well as health needs during a crisis

Brain Drain in Africa

·         Why does it happen?

o   Health care professionals seeking better wages, working conditions

o   Demand in developing countries

o   Training needed abroad

·         Why is this a problem?

o   WHO recommendations for doctor-patient ratio

o   Loss of $ for developing countries

o   Lack of health care professionals

§  Poor health

§  Low resilience to health shocks at a household, community, and national level

§  Lack of health knowledge

·         What can be done?

o   Increase wages/working conditions

o   Required in-country service

o   More & improved in-country training

o   Temporary visas

o   Training exchange

o   Local health training- community health workers, especially in rural areas