INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND BRAIN DRAIN:CAUSES, POLICY OPTIONS AND ITS IMPACT ON GHANA’SDEVELOPMENTAL STRATEGY.: (THE GHANAIAN EXPERIENCE WITH THE EXODUS OF NURSES)

Abstract

This thesis generally takes a cursory look at the trend of international migration among health nurses and accesses how the cost associated with their outflow can be translated into benefits for the sending countries like Ghana. For many developing economies, outmigration of professional skilled workers comes with more challenges than benefits. Many a time, the net lost through international migration especially among African countries becomes the main focus of attention rather than the net profits that might have accrued to them due to the difficulties at managing the challenges that comes with it. The impact is that, such unplanned and unexpected outflows of such professional workers undermine the development agenda of the sending countries. In Ghana, nurses outflow have brought great deal of challenges to the health sector. This is seen in terms of how it undermines the delivery of better health care to the population.

This study therefore looks at how the perennial problem of brain drain of health workers can be translated into brain gain by first and foremost examining the reasons for the attrition of nurses in the Ghana Health Service; critically accessing the policy(s) options slated to address the phenomenon and the extent to which it has been able to address the negative effects associated with their outflow.

The findings from the study show that factors that predispose health nurses from the Ghana Health Service are multi-faceted. This challenges according to the respondents interviewed are more origin-related than the attractions from the receiving countries. Despite the Government efforts at managing the negative effects associated with the nurses’ attrition from the service, there still exist some challenges confronting these policies. So far these measures have not being able to resolve the entire problems associated with the health workers migration in the service.

In view of this challenges coupled with the current economic world order, the study have proposed other feasible policy(s) options that can result in a win –win situation between Ghana and the receiving countries. Among these policy alternatives worth pursuing vigorously are bilateral and multilateral agreements, promoting policies of return and embarking upon proper planning and practice etc to supplement the measures already adopted.