Page 66 - Human Rights
P. 66
Faculty of Nursing
Adult care Nursing Department
strengthening of health systems, in particular human resources development, in the countries of
origin…
The ICN, in its position statement, Nurse Retention, Transfer and Migration, “recognizes the right
of individual nurses to migrate”, while “acknowledging the adverse effect that international
migration might have on health care quality”.
It condemns the practice of recruiting nurses to countries where authorities have failed to address
the human resource planning and problems that nurses experience.
The International Confederation of Midwifes (ICM) has also addressed the issue of the migration
of midwives, seeking to balance the interests of the individual midwife and the health systems
from which they may emigrate.
Countries of origin should ensure that allocated funding, including targeted overseas development
aid, is utilized to develop and maintain health care systems, including by ensuring that health care
professionals are able to enjoy just, favorable and dignified conditions of work, and by doing so
strengthening the rights and perceived value of health staff.
Countries of destination, too, can work to provide adequate reparation to international staff and
adopt recruitment measures that encourage domestic workers to train as health professionals.
Other recommended measures have suggested recruitment only from those countries with a
surplus of staff and planned exchanges whereby workers from developed or developing countries
could work abroad.
Some commentators have recommended that an ethical dimension be incorporated into the
health professional recruitment policy of high-income countries in order to encourage good
practice.
63 Academic Year 2025/2026
