Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2004 22:37:04 -0700 (PDT)
To: "International Health" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: African Nations To Be Compensated For Health Care Brain Drain

African Nations To Be Compensated For Health Care Brain Drain

Tuesday, June 1, 2004
http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20040601/449_24403.asp

Members of the African Union struck a deal with wealthy members of the World
Health Organization to be compensated for the loss of their health care
workers
to richer countries, the Nairobi Daily Nation reported Friday.

The negotiations were held during the 57th World Health Assembly in Geneva
May
17-22.

"The African Union pushed the agenda of compensation as one voice and we
will
jointly negotiate the terms like the European Union does," said Gideon
Konchella, Kenya's assistant minister for health.

Konchella said Kenya spends around $25,000 to train nurses and $50,000 to
train
doctors, yet the country has a shortage of 5,000 nurses.

For the last decade, doctors, nurses and clinical workers have been
migrating
to Europe, the United States, South Africa and Namibia for better money
after
being educated in Kenya, Konchella said.

Last year, 240 doctors and 1,000 nurses left Kenya.

U.S. AIDS Program Too Restrictive, Kenya Says

Konchella also talked to U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services Tommy
Thompson about the difficulties of implementing rules that the United States
has set forth under its global program to fight AIDS.

Kenya is among 14 countries that will benefit from a $15 billion anti-AIDS
plan
announced by U.S. President George W. Bush last year.  Some countries have
complained that the conditions that accompany the funds are too rigid.

"We told him the money will not achieve its aim if the rules were not
flexible
enough to allow a greater control by the government, buying of combined
regimens of generic drugs, nutrition and poverty as well as the buying of
equipment in hospitals," Konchella said.

The United States agreed to relax some of the rules, including those on
generic
drugs, Konchella said (Paul Udoto, Nairobi Daily Nation/allAfrica.com, May
28).


=====
Dr Rana Jawad Asghar
Coordinator South Asian Public Health Forum
[log in to unmask]      http://www.DrJawad.com
Typhoid Net http://www.typhoid.net



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