• Gender

Gender

This report from Public Services International documents how the global migration of health workers is adversely affecting the quality of health care delivery and the employment conditions of women health workers. It outlines the findings of research that was carried out among women health workers in 13 different countries; these include both sending countries, from which health workers are migrating, and the receiving countries which are their destination.

The report confirms the enormous increase in the levels of migration among women health workers during the past 10 to 15 years. It finds that the majority of migrant health workers would prefer to remain working in the health systems of their home countries if they could earn a living wage. The report outlines a range of other findings. These include: a decrease in the quality of care due to staff shortages; poor working conditions among women health workers in both the North and the South; great differences between the expectations and the actual experiences of women migrants; and increased activity (including unethical activity) by international recruitment agencies. The report makes a number of policy recommendations directed at governments, health sector employers and trade unions. These cover improvements in the pay and working conditions of health workers, the implementation of ethical guidelines on international recruitment and the provision of compensation to the public health sectors of sending countries.

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