Managing the migration of health care workers: Engaging with migrants and the diaspora

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Managing the migration of health care workers
Engaging with migrants and the diaspora

• Ethical Practices

Anita A. Davies, MD MPH Public Health
Specialist Migration Health Department Internatio
nal Organization for Migration (IOM)
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Presentation outline

• Current migration situation
• Return migration
• Migrants and the diaspora
• Ethical practices
• Stakeholders
• IOM experience

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Global migration trends

• 191 million migrants (2005)
• vs
• 176 million migrants (2000)
• Migrants comprise 3.0 of the global population

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Migration of health care workers

• Sharp rise in demand for health care workers in
  countries of destination
• Increasing concern for the economic, social and
  health systems in countries of origin

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Migration

• A process of moving, either across an
  international border, or within a state.
• (IOM 2004, Glossary on Migration)

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Migration process
Origin
Transit
Return
Destination
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Return migration

• The process of a person returning to his/her
  country of origin or habitual residence
• (IOM 2004, Glossary on Migration)
• Temporary
• Permanent

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Circular migration

• Migrants may come and go several times, following
  a dynamic process known as brain circulation
• (Stark et al 1997, Dos Santos Postel Vinay,
  2003).

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• Migrants and diaspora contributions towards the
  development of their countries of origin

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Migrants and diaspora contributions

• Financial remittances
• Social remittances
• Technological remittances
• Political remittances
• (Levitt1996) (Goldring 2004)

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• Ethical practices and return migration of health
  care workers

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Ethical practicesReturn migration

• Migrants rights
• Voluntary return
• Safe to return
• Citizenship

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Ethical practicesReturn migration

• Human resource policies
• Pension schemes
• Reintegration cultural orientation
• Continuous professional development

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Factors to support voluntary return

• Political stability
• Good governance
• Development
• Citizenship
• Voting rights
• Integration of returnees
• Favourable remittance rates
• Reimbursement of income tax

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Current ethical recruitment practices and return
migration

• National code of practice
• UK code of practice on international recruitment
• Multilateral code of practice
• Commonwealth code of conduct
• Bilateral agreements
• Facilitate return migration

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Lessons learnt

• Codes of conduct not effective if all
  stakeholders do not abide
• Bilateral agreements encourage temporary
  migration
• Partners may have competing interests
• National interests need to be in line with wider
  development objectives

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Traditional stakeholders

• Countries of origin
• Countries of destination
• Employers
• International Organisations
• Non Governmental Organizations
• Professional Organizations
• Donors

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New and important stakeholders

• Migrants diaspora
• Academic and research institutions
• Businesses civil society
• Recruitment agencies
• Development agencies

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Evidence based ethical return migration practices

• Return migration data is limited
• Governments and migrants needs must be addressed
  
• Consensus must be reached
• Best practices should be evidence based

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Ethical return migration practices

• Identify skills and resources in the diaspora
• Identify priority skill/resource needs of
  countries of origin
• Match the identified skill/resource needs with
  appropriate skills/resources in the diaspora
• Invest migrant remittances for the development
  of countries of origin

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IOM Experience
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The Migration for Development in Africa (MIDA)
Initiative

• Facilitates ethical return migration programmes
• Engages with migrants members of diasporas
• Governments in countries of origin and countries
  of destination

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Migration for Development in Africa (MIDA)
Small-scale enterprise development
Information Campaigns -
Dialogue and migration policy option
Skills transfer
Assessment database development
Remittances programmes
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MIDA projects
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Ethical return migration practices

• Return of health care workers can hold great
  promise for developing countries, especially when
  it is done with the willing participation of
  migrants and members of diasporas in
  collaboration with other key stakeholders.

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THANK YOU
For more informationon migration
managementwww.iom.int