afrol News, 7 September - A high attrition has been recorded in Ethiopia's health sector, as 80% of the country's medical graduates, including one of medical doctors left the country to chase greener pastures abroad annually, a study by a local non-governmental organisation, Unity for Development, disclosed.

Ethiopia is described as the worst African country affected by brain drain. In fact, the study revealed that currently there are more working Ethiopian doctors in the United States than in Ethiopia. Many Ethiopian doctors also left for Botswana, South Africa and the Middle East in search of good pay.

As of 2006, the study further disclosed, more than 3,000 Ethiopian medical doctors have deserted. As a result, only 900 doctors with the challenge of attending to millions of people.

The high attrition has created acute shortage of qualified medical workers in the country's health facilities, which is why there is one doctor for 36,000.

Ethiopian government is left with no option other than relying on costly foreign experts to fill vacuums created by brain drain.

Though most of its citizens are reeling with the burden of potentially preventable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, intestinal parasites, acute respiratory infections and diarrhoeal diseases, Ethiopia's health indicators have been generally poor. The country's health sector is also beset with poor conditions of services.

It is reported that more than half of Ethiopia's population cannot access health care.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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