VOA健康报道2024--Poorly-paid Healthcare Workers Leaving Africa

 

Poorly-paid Healthcare Workers Leaving Africa

Cameroon has one of the world's lowest amounts of health care workers per capita. About a third of trained doctors who completed medical school last year left the West African country. Many doctors and nurses are leaving for more well-paying jobs in Europe and North America, including Canada.

Canada, like Cameroon, has official languages of English and French.

After training as a nurse, Nevielle Leinyuy spent almost 10 years in Cameroon working as a front desk worker. He was unable to find a well-paying job in the medical field. Last year, he applied¹ for a nursing program in Canada. He now lives there with his wife and children.

“They are stealing us from Cameroon. We want to work in Cameroon but there is no pay,” the 39-year-old Leinyuy said.

He said he would have earned less than $100 a month working as a nurse in Cameroon.

Cameroon is not the only sub-Saharan African country where low pay is causing health workers to leave.

The number of health workers increased in several countries after the COVID-19 pandemic. But almost 75 percent of African nations still experience medical worker shortages and high rates of healthcare workers leaving to work overseas. That information comes from a 2023 report from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The lack of health workers makes it difficult to deal with infant mortality and infectious diseases. It also makes it hard to provide services like vaccinations³, said Matshidiso Moeti. He is the WHO regional director for Africa.

Cameroon has fewer than seven nurses per 10,000 people, the latest WHO data found. Neighboring Nigeria has more than double that amount. Canada has more than 14 times that number.

Marie-Pier Burelle is a spokesperson for Health Canada. She told The Associated Press that Canada is facing its own health workforce⁴ shortages. The country has 30,000 nursing positions it needs to fill, says Statistics Canada.

Burelle said Canada follows the WHO’s code of practice to make sure its recruitment of workers internationally is ethical⁵. Ethical recruitment includes strengthening the health systems of developing countries dealing⁶ with medical worker shortages.

Late last year, the Canadian government donated around $2.2 million to Cameroon's health ministry⁷. It also delivered medical and monitoring equipment as part of Canada's Global Initiative for Vaccine⁸ Equity⁹.

But such support falls short of Cameroon’s needs.

Cameroon’s government employs around 100 doctors each year for a population of around 28 million people, said Dr. Peter Louis Ndifor. He is the vice² president of the Cameroon Medical Council, a doctors association.

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia, by comparison, has a population of under a million people. It recruited around 155 doctors last year, health officials say.

The shortage of health workers is just part of Cameroon's current health crisis.

More than 210 health centers closed because of destruction or abandonment during a conflict in the country's west, the United Nations says. The conflict has killed thousands of people over the past several years.

Tumenta Kennedy is a Cameroon-based migration¹⁰ expert. He says Canada has become an attractive place because Canadian agencies target local doctors and nurses. Family ties overseas also play a part.

Canadian government immigration programs like the Federal Skilled Worker Program or Express Entry are gaining in popularity. Cameroonians are among the top nationalities applying for Express Entry, the program's latest report found.

I’m Dan Novak.

Words in This Story

per capita — adv. by or for each person

apply — n. to ask formally for something usually in writing

region — n. a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way

recruit — v. to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization, the armed forces, etc.

ethical — adj. involving questions of right and wrong behavior

monitor — v. to watch, observe, listen to, or check for a special purpose over a period of time

abandon — n. to leave and never return to

 

attract — v. to cause to go to or move to or toward a place

 

1 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

5 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

9 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

10 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。