BY ANSO THOM

Conservative estimates by Wilma Meeus and David Sanders at the University of the Western Cape's School of Public Health show that rich Western countries have saved billions by enticing African medical professionals to leave their countries.

Meeus found that between 1985 and 1995, 60% of Ghana's medical graduates left. Nigeria alone lost 21,000 doctors to the United States; Nigeria has incurred a loss of US$420 million as a result. Zimbabwe has conservatively lost $16.8 million through the departure of 840 doctors. Sudan lost 17% of its doctors, while Ethiopia and Zambia each lost 50%.

According to the UN, 31 of 53 African countries have less than 32 doctors per 100,000 people; 17 have less than 10 doctors per 100,000 people.

In the 1970s, the US government calculated that it gained $20,000 for every skilled worker from a developing country. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates that for each professional aged between 25 and 35 years, $184,000 is saved in training costs by developed countries.

Meeus said that the 27 richest developed countries have a work force of about 3 million professionals educated in developing countries. Using the conservative figure of $20,000 per person educated outside the rich countries, the transfer of wealth from developing to developed countries is about $60 billion. The savings to these rich countries is a staggering $552 billion if the UNCTAD figure is used.

[From the the Nigeria-AIDS eForum, a project of Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) Nigeria. Visit < http://www.nigeria-A HREF="mailto:aids.org"><aids.org>.]

From Green Left Weekly, April 23, 2003.
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