Africa's got brains: Consequences of brain drain

The country/region from where mass outflow occurs is regarded as the sufferer of Brain drain whereas the host country receiving the influx of skilled professionals benefits from Brain gain. Brain drain has both positive and negative effects on a provider nation.

Negative effects

The major consequence is that the magnitude of the labour force is diminished. The provider nation is at risk of depleting its supply of intellectual talent especially since it is the highly skilled individuals who are lured to developed nations for better opportunities and higher after-tax incomes. These are professionals who have been trained by the scarcely available resources at social cost in their home countries.

In Kenya, the health sector as earlier mentioned has suffered the most in the past three decades. The mass migration of doctors and nurses to US has adversely affected the local health system. Although we have received financial aid to deal with issues such as maternal and child mortality and diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Malaria, there is inadequate manpower in the form of medical and health professionals. In view of this, increasing development aid will not yield much if there are no local personnel to implement health and development programs.

Many International and local NGOs are forced to bring in expatriates from the very developed countries that have lured our skilled workers. Foreign workers are also imported by governments of developing nations to fill the huge gap left. A new report by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) estimates that Africa uses about $4 billion dollars a year to replace the lost workers with expatriates from the West.

Scarcity of skilled professionals in development countries also negatively impacts the local industrial development. Multi National Companies (though they also have many negative effects) avoid brain-drained countries due to lack of proficient workers. Development of basic infrastructure in brain-drained countries is also affected. City planners, architectures and engineers are among the top migrants to developed nations. Additionally, with countless entrepreneurs taking their ideas and businesses to developed nations, wealth creation for their own country is lost.

Positive effects

Although brain-drain has a negative connotation, it does have its merits. Skeldon (2008) notes that the leaving of highly skilled migrants causes increased demand for higher level education amongst the population.

Additionally, most people who settle abroad send money back home to their relatives. The sending back of remittances increases economic development in the country and raises the standard of living for the recipients. 

Finally, if the skilled workers are in circular migration (the temporary and usually repetitive movement of a migrant worker between home and host countries) they may bring with them new skills and knowledge when their return home.

References

Skeldon, Ronald (2008). "Of skilled migration, Brain Drains and Policy". International Migration 23 (4): 1–26.

Africa's Got Brains: Brain Drain Part 2

I will halt my talk with the professor to explain what brain drain is and its causes.

Brain drain, also referred to as human capital flight, is the migration of people, usually individuals with technical skills and expertise (such as medical practitioners, engineers, scientists or financial professionals) from one country or part of a country to another.

The Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre (SIRDC) classifies brain drain into 3groups[1]:

·         a) Primary external brain drain

This occurs when trained and skilled individuals leave their countries to work in developed countries

·          b)Secondary external brain drain

This happens when trained and skilled human resources leave a less developed country to work in another less developed country.

·         c)Internal brain drain

Happens when trained and skilled individuals cannot find employment in their area of their expertise in their own country, or when such individuals migrate from the public sector to the private sector or within a sector of a particular country. In this entry, brain drain will refer to the first two categories.

Brain drain is commonest in developing nations—mostly Africa, the Caribbean and Eastern European countries. The World Bank Group estimates that over 70,000 trained and skilled Africans leave their home countries every year to work in developed nations[2].

There are no Kenyan-specific brain drain statistics. However, it is estimated every year, more than 30,000 Kenyans leave for higher studies overseas—mostly to the US, UK and Australia. Of these, less than 9,000 return home after finishing their studies. Government statistics reveal that over a million professionals live and work abroad, making Kenya one of the most seriously drained country  in Africa.

Causes of brain-drain in Kenya 

a) Low Salaries and bad Working Conditions:

Personally, I think that this is one of the chief causes of brain-drain in Kenya. Most developing countries have low remuneration rates and the poorest working conditions. The health sector in Kenya is a case in point. Over the past decade, there have been numerous doctor and nurses strikes. These health professionals usually complain of bad pay, poor working conditions, inadequate/low medical supplies and equipment. A medical doctor revealed that they had better equipment at med school—for training than what is provided at the major hospitals.

b)      Further studies

As earlier noted, many individuals leave Kenya for further studies abroad but do not return. They opt to stay in their host countries. In the past decade however, the Education system has improved, with more universities and colleges being built and well equipped. Career choice has also improved with many universities providing courses usually provided abroad.

c)      Unemployment

Despite substantial economic growth and development in Kenya in the past two decades, unemployment rates are still high. Young professionals therefore look for employment elsewhere. Tanzania, South Sudan and Rwanda have witnessed an influx of young Kenyans looking for jobs as business people, teachers and humanitarian aid workers. The US and UK are a favourite destination for Kenyans due to availability of odd jobs there.

d)      Political Instability:

This has not been a major cause of brain drain in Kenya—maybe for war-torn countries such as Somalia and South Sudan. However, in the past, some great brains such as writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o , activist Koigi wa Mwere had to leave the country due to a bad political climate. Additionally, The 2007/2008 post-election violence saw an increase in visa application.

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[1] Adapted from Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Center (SIRDC), “An Analysis of the Cause and Effect of the Brain Drain in Zimbab-we,”www.queensu.ca/,July 31, 2008

[2] See Allen, Ahkiah, “Medical Migration Drains Africa,”

Washington Week ,www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/,May 12, 2008