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Papers published under the ATPS Special Paper Series are those commissioned by ATPS as concept papers, think pieces, leading conference papers and keynote addresses. In keeping with our knowledge brokerage function, ATPS publishes, with permission of the author(s) or journal editors, papers (published or unpublished) produced by distinguished academics/researchers for a different purpose but judged by ATPS to be of excellent quality.

• The Challenges of Communicating Science: A journalist's perspective
  By Otula Owuor Special Paper Series 37

• From Inventors to Innovators: An investigation into individual inventors in Tanzania
  By Bitrina D. Diyamett and Richard Mabala. Special Paper Series 36

• Barriers Between Scientists and Journalists: Myth or reality? in Tanzania
  By Peter Oriare Special Paper Series 35

• Brain Drain: Painting a Picture for Africa
  By Divine Ikenwilo. Special Paper Series 34

• ICTs and Health Technology at the Grassroots Level in Africa
  By Margaret Nyambura Ndung'u. Special Paper Series 33

• The Place of Policy in Applied Health Care and Technology with Special Reference to African Traditional Medicine
  By Daniel Noni Lantum. Special Paper Series 31

• Promotion of Public Health Care Using African Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Implications for IPRs: Experiences from Southern and Eastern Africa
  By Hassan O. Kaya. Special Paper Series 30

• Why Africa has Fallen Short of Building Dynamic Agroprocessing Capabilities: Constraints, Options and Prospects
  By Wellington A. Otieno and Ada Mwangola. Special Paper Series 29

• The Biotechnology Revolution and its Implication for Food Security in Africa
  By Victor Konde. Special Paper Series 28

• Markets, Institutions and Agricultural Performance in Africa
  By Julius Mangisoni. Special Paper Series 27

• Special Paper Series 26

• Survey of Indigenous Water Management and Coping Mechanisms in Africa: Implications for Knowledge and Technology Policy
  By Femi Olokesusi. Special Paper Series 25

• Imbalance in Water Allocation Stability and Collaboration within the Nile Basin
  By Kinfe Abraham. Special Paper Series 24

• Wastewater and Irrigated Agriculture Lessons Learned and Possible Applications in Africa
  By Frans P. Huibers, Lucas Seghezzo and Adriaan Mels. Special Paper Series 23

• Integrated Value Mapping for Sustainable River Basin Management: Economics, Ethics and Social Psychology
  By Kevin C. Urama, Wendy Kenyon, Rob Burton and Jackie Potts. Special Paper Series 22

• Globalizing World: Many Promises, Lack of Responsibility, and Challenges for Africa
  By M.H. Khalil Timamy. Special Paper Series 21

• Networking Technical Change and Industrialization:The Case of Small and Medium Firms in Nigeria
  By Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka. Special Paper Series 20

• An Assessement of Science and Technology Capacity building in Sub-Saharan Africa
  By O. Akin Adubifa. Special Paper Series 19

• What is a Poverty Reduction Strategy Without Science and Technology? A Review of Science and Technology and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers in Sub-Saharan Africa?
  By O. Akin Adubifa. Special Paper Series 18

• Global Governance of Technology and Africas Global Exclusion
  By Banji Oyelaran Oyeyinka. Special Paper Series 17

• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Technology Transfer and Poverty Alleviation: Africas Hopes and Dilemma
  By Moses Ikiara. Special Paper Series 16

• International Trends in Modern Biotechnology: Entry by and Implications for African Countries
  By John Mugabe. Special Paper Series 15

• A Science Agenda from an African Perspective
  By Turner T. Isoun. Special Paper Series 14

• Strengthening National Information and Communication Technology Policy in Africa: Governance, Equity and Institutional Issues
  By Melvin Ayogu. Special Paper Series 13

• State of Science and Technology Capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa
  By M.H. Khalil-Timamy. Special Paper Series 12

• Application of ICTs in Africa: Development of Knowledge workers in centers of Learning
  Special Paper Series 11

• ICT Human Resource Development in Africa: Challenges, Strategies and Options
  Special Paper Series 10

• Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs): Poverty Alleviation and Universal Access Policies (A Review of the Current Status and Issues)
  By Andrew Dymond and Sonja Oestmann. Special Paper Series 9

• African Response to the Information Communication Technology Revolution (Case Study of the ICT Development in Nigeria)
  By G. Olalere Ajayi. Special Paper Series 8

• Pursuing Technology Policy Research in Sub-Saharan Africa (Refelections on the Dimensions, Applications and Implications of a Methodological Framework)
  By M.H. Khalil-Timamy. Special Paper Series 7

• Impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on Technology Transfer in Africa (Conceptual Issues and a Research Agenda)
  By Moses M. Ikiara. Special Paper Series No. 6

• Blueprint for Developing National ICT Policy in Africa
  By Clement Dzidonu. Special Paper Series 5

• Projet Pour Le Developpement dune Politique Nationale de Tic En Afrique
  By Clement Dzidonu. Special Paper Series 5

• Impact of Globalization on Science and Technology in sub-Saharan Africa
  By Musa A. Dube and PBy Mwindaace Siamwiza. Special Paper Series 4

• Biotechnology in Sub-Saharan Africa: Towards a Policy Research Agenda
  By John Mugabe. Special Paper Series 3

• Globalization, Markets for Technology and the Relevance of Innovation Policies in Developing Economies
  By Osita Ogbu & Melvin Ayogu. Special Paper Series 2

• Globalization and Technology
  By Osita Ogbu & Melvin Ayogu. Special Paper Series 1

ATPS Special Paper Series

Brain Drain: Painting a Picture for Africa

» Divine Ikenwilo, ATPS, 2007.

According to a United Nations estimate, by early 2005, there would be between 185 and 192 million migrants around the world (UN, 2004). A substantial proportion of these people are Africans who have settled in other countries and continents and among these are highly skilled health care workers and professionals. Research has established the link between international migration and brain drain (Adams, 2003). African doctors, qualified nurses and allied health care professionals have been migrating in their stride to either seek training opportunities or simply to seek opportunities to practice their professions.

The problem of brain drain has recently been a cause for concern for most African governments and organisations because of the apparent affects on health care service delivery, among other negative effects. Many possible causes of brain drain have been advanced, couched in terms of push, pull and facilitating factors and other theories of migration. From real, nominal as well as perceived wage differentials between source countries in Africa and destination countries, to non-economic, social, political and cultural factors, the effect of globalisation, improved communication and targeted migration, have all contributed in exacerbating the problems of the drain of African health care professionals.

This paper revisits the causes of migration, recognises the existence of brain drain and seeks to explore the extent of the problem, and finally proffer possible solutions to ameliorate the effects, drawing largely from both theory and empirical work. Read more