Botswana May 2006 |
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| Leave health workers alone: Editorial, (Mmegi, 2006-05-18):-Early in the week, the Zimbabwean minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr. David Parirenyatwa disclosed that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states are working on measures to make it difficult for each other to "steal" health professionals using economic superiority. He reportedly cited Botswana and South Africa in particular as leading the list of culprits in this supposed crime. In turn Botswana has been accusing the United Kingdom and Australia of perpetrating the "theft" of professionals, which weakens the country's health system. Those countries offer the high salaries. The SADC countries apparently intend to use the SADC Health Protocol to frustrate the efforts of the region's health professionals to improve their livelihood. We are the first to agree that we have a problem with our health system in the region. In some instances, we have even reached crisis proportions in view of the ravaging HIV/AIDS scourge, understaffing, dilapidated infrastructure and shortage of medicines. We are yet to be convinced that the solution to this crisis lies in a legislative approach that denies health professionals the right to choose where to work. If we are to take the situation of Zimbabwe, for instance, we cannot single out the health sector as the only one facing a crisis. Professionals in other sectors are allowed to look for greener pastures outside their home country. The academics, lawyers, artisans, information technology specialists, builders, carpenters, artists and many others from that country, and indeed other SADC countries, are scattered all over the region and the world. Even Botswana's former minister of health, Joy Phumaphi, quit her ministerial post to seek greener pastures in Geneva, Switzerland. This, despite the fact that she was then leading the health system of a country with one of the highest prevalences of HIV/AIDS in the world. It is therefore unfair and tantamount to criminal, to try and penalise the health professionals for the crisis that is not of their own making. For instance, the crisis in Zimbabwe is, in the main, the creation of the politicians, who obviously still have access to foreign currency enabling them to go shopping in the neighbouring states and further afield. It is highly unethical of the SADC governments to try to deny the health professionals the right to a decent livelihood. The only viable solution to this crisis is to urgently improve the working conditions of health professionals, who, on the whole are overworked, underpaid and work in appalling conditions. It is little wonder that a councillor or local government representative is paid more than a nurse or doctor. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |