BRAIN GAIN IN THE HEALTH SECTOR OF GHANA - DIASPORA COLLECTIVE IN-KIND REMITTANCE AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFERS

ABSTRACT

Migration is gradually becoming an important feature of globalization, due to the individual’s will to overcome adversity and to live a better life. Several reports have emerged on migration of health professional from developing countries to developed ones. Studies have tagged this form of migration as ‘Brain Drain’ and concluded that health professionals’ migration poses a major challenge to the health sector of the country, in this case Ghana. Against this background, this study sought to fill in the research gap regarding the benefits of Ghana losing some of its medical professionals to developed countries. Hence, the study examined, the ‘Brain Gain’ in the health sector of Ghana: diaspora collective in-kind remittance transfers. Specifically drawing on the pull and push migration theory of Lee, the study explored; the motivation drivers that influence health professionals to migrate. The purposive sampling technique was used to collect data from five (5) medical stakeholders, health organization, and medical associations in Ghana, while the snowball sampling technique was use to gather information from seven (7) returnee medical practitioners in Ghana. The study revealed that, most medical professionals migrate due to poor condition of services in Ghana and their desire to better their lives. These health migrants mostly remit in-kind to the state and they do that through donation of medical equipment, medical supplies and through organization of medical outreach programs for poor and deprived communities in Ghana. Most of the respondents affirmed that remittances from this migrated health professionals’ helps to reduce the burden on government budget in the health sector of Ghana. On the other hand, the findings revealed that, Government has no deliberate policy to manage migration of health professionals from Ghana.