Page 65 - Human Rights

Faculty of Nursing
Adult care Nursing Department

The failure of the international community to support the building of health systems and training

of personnel in resource-poor countries are part of the problem as is the poor recruitment and

retention policies on the part of some governments.

The depletion of skilled nursing and midwifery staff in developing countries, accompanied by an
increase in the active recruitment of trained staff from developing countries by employers facing

nursing shortages in wealthy countries, is often portrayed as a problem caused by migration.

However, it is clearly a result of inequalities between source and destination countries and it is
these which need to be addressed.

The inflow of health professionals into high-income countries can represent an important

percentage of health sector personnel.

According to the Nursing and Midwifery Council in the UK, over one third of nurses entering the
UK health system for the first time were trained abroad.

The impact of emigration on the source country is often disproportionate to the impact of this

migration on the country of destination.

For example, the number of nurses from Mauritius obtaining permits to work in the UK in 2002

constituted a tiny percentage of UK-registered nurses for example, but represented nearly 14% of
Mauritius’ nursing capacity.

The World Health Assembly, at its 57th session in 2004, adopted a resolution that urged member
states to develop strategies and means to:

mitigate the adverse effects of migration of health personnel and minimize its negative impact on

health systems; [and] mitigate the adverse impact on developing countries of the loss of health

personnel through migration, including means for the receiving countries to support the

62 Academic Year 2025/2026