South Africa April 2006 |
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| SA doctors declining, (I-Net Bridge, 2006-04-04):-Emerging economies such as Brazil, Egypt, the Philippines and Mexico had two to three times as many doctors per 1,000 people than South Africa, the South African Institute of Race Relations said in Johannesburg. The finding was published in the Institute's annual South Africa Survey. South Africa had 0.7 doctors per thousand people over the decade to 2004 as opposed to 2.1 in Brazil and Egypt, 1.2 in the Philippines and 1.7 in Mexico. Developed nations such as Germany and the United States had 3.6 and 5.5 respectively. According to Marco MacFarlane, a health and demographics researcher at the Institute, the figures included both public and private sector doctors, which meant that the situation in South Africa's public sector was significantly worse. Figures published by the Institute showed that there were 7,645 public sector doctors in South Africa out of a total of 29,912 registered doctors. "Considering South Africa's very high disease burden - a function of HIV/Aids - our already poor doctor to patient ratios put South Africa at a severe disadvantage in providing good quality public healthcare compared to other emerging economies," said Macfarlane. "While we inherited a skewed health system in 1994 the figures still reflect poor management of the public healthcare system that has made it an unattractive option for newly graduated doctors. This is compounded by the Department of Health meddling in the affairs of the private sector." MacFarlane added that young South African doctors and nurses were easily lured into the public sectors in the United Kingdom, Australia, and elsewhere and that to improve healthcare in South Africa it would be crucial to take steps to attract young health professionals back into our own public sector. "If other emerging economies can retain their doctors then we should be able to do the same," he said. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |