South Africa

1
MIDA HEALTH SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa
2
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Africa
Source World Development Indicators, World Bank,
2002
3
Population with access to an improved water
source by region ()
and in South Africa
Source World Development Indicators, World Bank,
2002
4
Maternal Mortality Ratio (per 100, 000 life
births)
Source World Development Indicators, World Bank,
2002
5
Percentage of adults, compared to world regions,
1999
Percentage of young people (15-24 years) in South
Africa

• Male 11, 34
• Female 24, 82

Source World Development Indicators, World Bank,
2002
6
(No Transcript)
7
South Africa
Number of health professionals pour 100,000
population
Comparison of number of health professionals pour
100,000 population in Sub-Saharan Africa and in
countries of high income
WHO estimates, (about 1998)
8
South Africa has one doctor per 1512 habitants,
one nurses per 458 habitants
Adapted from van Rensburg, D., van Rensburg, N.,
Distribution of human resources. Chapter 16
201-232 In Crisp, N. Ntuli, A. eds. South
African Health Review, 1999
9
The balance of professionals between the public
and the private sector is undermining health care
in the country.
10
Even though the economic, political and social
situation in South Africa improved basically
during the last decade, the number of
international migrants to industrialized
countries remains high.
In only three years, about 1,000 well-educated
health professionals left South Africa to settle
in highly industrialized countries
11
Brain Drain
Main causes

• conflicts and political instability
• low income and poor social benefits
• professional dissatisfaction (lack of modern and
  adequate sanitary material, the gap between what
  has been learned and what can be accomplished)
• the ambiguous attitude of the developed countries
  which attempt to attract foreign professionals,
  in order to compensate the lack of highly skilled
  workers in several sectors

12
Estimating that the training of a non-specialised
doctor in a developing country costs about 60,000
USD and the training of paramedical personnel
about 12,000 USD per person, it can be concluded
that the developing countries subsidise North
America, Western Europe and South Asia with an
annual amount of about 500 million USD.
An important part of the training of medical
personnel in Africa is financed by official
development aid.
13
Immigrants from South Africa in Europe
Great Britain 26 000 Germany 4
743 Netherlands 1 778 Portugal 1 724
Source Eurostat, 1999
14
South Africa
15
IOM is aware about the skills of the African
diaspora and has developed an efficient strategy
to mobilize them
Migrations for development in Africa (MIDA)
An innovative approach

• Strengthening the institutional and technical
  capacities of developing countries by filling key
  jobs in the public and the private sector with
  qualified migrants

• Mobilising the skills and financial resources of
  the Diaspora for development in their home
  countries

• Giving highly skilled workers the chance to take
  advantage of the economic opportunities of their
  host countries, and simultaneously contribute to
  the development of their home countries

• Strengthening the technical exchange and
  co-operation of home and host countries

• Facilitating the mobility of human and financial
  resources

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The transfers

• Priorities
• identify skills needed in the target countries
  which could best be met through the knowledge,
  skills, financial and other resources of the
  Diaspora

• Different forms of intervention

• Distant-work assignments tele-work,
  video-conferences, internet courses
• Virtual/temporary/short-term assignments
•  
• Permanent assignment (possible option)

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SUMMIT OF THE AFRICAN UNION
DURBAN 9-10 JULY 2002
Heads of State and Government of Member States,
RECOGNISING the vital importance of Capacity
Building for our countries
ANXIOUS to preserve our attachment to the
development and utilisation of the continents
human resources for the general well-being of our
peoples in all areas of human endeavour
Proclaim the decade 2002-2011 as  YEARS OF
CAPACITY BUILDING IN AFRICA  and
2004 AS THE YEAR FOR DEVELOPMENT of HUMAN
RESOURCES IN AFRICA
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8 - 12 October 2002 in Harare/Zimbabwe
Aware about the Brain drain and the needs of the
African countries for health professionals, the
46 Ministers of Health mandated WHO and IOM to

• identify the competencies of the African
  diaspora
• collect the personnel data concerning these
  health professionals

WHO and IOM agrees to set up a database  MIDA
Health  which offers to the Ministers of Health
the necessary information to mobilize their
health diaspora
19
IOM and WHO developed a questionnaire
and distributed it with the assistance of
? African governments
? diaspora associations
? Africa- or health-related organizations
to African health professionals in the diaspora
The collected data concerning professional
qualifications, future availability and interest
in participating in a development program are
stored in the MIDA Health database.
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South African health professionals got
voluntarily registered in the MIDA Health database
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They are living and working in these world
regions
Europe
USA/Canada
Australia/New Zealand
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General practitioner
Cardiologist
They cover the following occupational areas
Physicist
Nurse
Nutrition expert
Psychiatrist
Pediatrist
None of them is unemployed in its country of
residence.
22
The registered candidates left South Africa
between 1968 and 2001. These were the reasons for
their departure
They are able and willing to contribute to the
development of the South African health sector
through
Desired Form of Participation
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• Due to the disastrous effects of HIV/AIDS, the
  South African health system has a particular need
  for qualified health professionals.

• Inside the country, regional differences and the
  tendency of professionals to the private sector
  are undermining the national health system.

• In addition, South Africa has to cope with the
  Brain Drain of its highly qualified nationals to
  more industrialized countries.

• IOM developed the MIDA strategy to support the
  circulation of migrants. By this flexible
  approach skills existing in the diaspora can be
  mobilized for the development of African
  countries.

• Therefore, the MIDA Health database was
  established and provides the necessary
  information about qualified South African health
  professionals in the diaspora.

• The registered candidates are willing and able
  to response through short term visits, tele-work
  or a permanent return to the needs for human
  resources in the South African health system.