Migration management and health service delivery: A case of the Zimbabwe public health sector

ABSTRACT

Poor economic conditions in Zimbabwe have greatly contributed to irregular emigration and brain drain with the public health sector seriously affected. This article identifies and critiques the strategies underpinning the out-migration management policy framework that regulates the movement of health professionals in Zimbabwe. It highlights strategies that can ensure that the state derives maximum benefits from its trained personnel, reduce their emigration and benefit from their movement without infringing on their freedoms of choice and movement. Qualitative techniques were used to gather data with in-depth interviews and questionnaires as data collection tools. Results show that previous strategies put in place to manage health professionals’ emigration in Zimbabwe have not effectively harnessed the benefits from that movement. The article concludes that the government should take advantage of existing initiatives and craft a robust out-migration management policy framework that infuses all merits of the individual strategies to effectively manage emigration. This should include strategies such as reduction in hiring expatriates and using the funds to improve remuneration of locals to reduce skills flight; making arrangements for excess labour export to countries in need of such labour for a fee and initiating diaspora engagement initiatives to facilitate skills transfer from the emigrated professionals.

KEYWORDS:

• Migration management
• health service delivery
• health professionals
• policy framework

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).