Will you stay or will you go now
Saskatchewan’s aggressive recruitment of South African doctors is … having devastating consequences.
Some rural areas of South Africa are now left with just three doctors for every 100,000 people. In Saskatchewan, where officials frequently cite a physician shortage, there are roughly 136 for every 100,000 people.
read more:South Africa suffering as Saskatchewan takes its doctors, Regina LeaderPost, July 27, 2009
Truth is, it’s not just South Africa. It’s most of Africa, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, South America and other corners of the world.
Attrition of skilled workers and professionals is not an abstract concept. If you don’t incite emmigration, you won’t need nearly as many volunteers to “fill the gaps.” (And fill the gaps poorly since they don’t know the language or the culture.) And family units and the extended community won’t be fragmented when that person leaves home.
We are just plan greedy. We are quick to claim our rights. But just who do those rights belong to? Have we limited someone else’s right to improve our own?
