“AFRICA is losing the battle to keep its most skilled citizens employed on the continent. The evidence is stark: More African scientists and engineers are now working in the US than in all of Africa. At the same time, more non-African professionals are working in Africa than in the 1960s. The most damaging emigration affects health care: 75% of the doctors trained in Zambia have emigrated …”
“Although Africa has focused on courting foreign investors, new research notes that the value of funds transmitted back to Africa as worker remittances is in many cases far larger than total foreign direct investment (FDI).”
“The British Medical Journal estimates that 23,000 health-care professionals emigrate annually from Africa. A survey of South African medical schools suggests that between a third and a half of their graduates leave for jobs in the developed world. The costs are enormous. Every doctor who leaves Africa costs $184,000 to replace, according to a study by the UN Conference on Trade and Development. Those 23,000 thus represent $4.2 billion in lost educational investment. In addition, Africa spends roughly $4 billion on salaries for foreign experts, the study found.”
“Zambia has trained more than 1,600 doctors at state expense since 1964 but fewer than 400 remain in the country, the International Organisation on Migration reported.”
Read the eAfrica journal for the complete articles and for 22 Good Ideas for Using the Diaspora, the link is provided below.
source: http://217.77.130.11/pdf/braingain/governance-innovation-09-2003.pdf/view